A young 20 year old patient was rushed to the Accident & Emergency Department of Global Hospital, Parel, Mumbai last week with complaints of sudden onset chest pain, profuse sweating, hypotension (low BP), Hypoxia (low Oxygen concentration).
Doctors were quick to make a bed side clinical diagnosis of a massive Pulmonary Embolism, a life threatening Emergency where a patient could have suddenly gone into cardiac arrest and died.
With clockwork precision, he was gives the definitive treatment in the Emergency itself, within 38 minutes of arrival, and by the time the medication infusion was over in 2 hours, he had stabilized completely - Chest pain gone, BP picked up, Oxygen levels up and he was much more comfortable.
Cause of this life threatening Emergency - Binge watching television.
Yes, it’s true! Binge-watching television, more than 4 hours a day, not only causes brain rot — it can also lead to blood clot, raising the risk of life-threatening blood clots in the legs or lungs by almost 35%.
Watching back to back episodes of your favorite web series online or too much screen time during work from home may have become be a fab these days, but binge watching of TV, which involves prolonged sitting in cramped positions for long periods of time, has been linked with an increased risk of developing a venous thromboembolism (VTE). This is a condition where a blood clot forms in a vein. It includes deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism, which is when a clot travels to the lungs – which can be serious or even fatal.
DVT’s tend to form in the leg and are more likely to occur when you spend long time sitting down. When you’re sitting, the normal circulation of blood through the legs and feet is impaired
and slows down, so it is more likely to pool and start to clot. When you move your legs, the action of your calf muscles helps to squeeze the blood back up towards your heart. Some people do not know they have a DVT until the clot moves from their leg or arm and travels to their lungs.
Even individuals who regularly engage in physical activity should not ignore the potential harms of prolonged sedentary behavior such as TV viewing. Exercise can reduce the risk of death in relation to time spent sitting, but exercise doesn’t seem to reduce this risk as much in people who watch a lot of television. The increased risk could also be due to unhealthy eating habits often associated with watching TV (an unhealthy diet can also increase your risk of blood clots).
Hence it becomes extremely important that whether you’re watching TV or working at your computer, it’s a good idea to frequently get up and take breaks from sitting still. One should try to move around every time there’s an ad break, at least stand and stretch every 30 minutes, or be involved in other physical activities whilst watching to ensure you are staying active.
What are the symptoms of DVT?
A DVT usually forms in one leg or one arm. Not everyone with a DVT will have symptoms, but symptoms can include:
1. Sudden or slowly developed swelling of the leg or arm
2. warmness or pain in the swollen limb
3. Pain or tenderness in the leg on standing or walking.
4. Redness or discoloration of the skin
5. Veins near the skin’s surface are prominently seen
What are the symptoms of pulmonary embolism?
1. Sudden shortness of breath or fast breathing
2. Sharp chest pain that often comes with coughing or movement
3. Pain in the back
4. Cough - with or without bloody sputum/phlegm
5. Sweating more than normal
6. Fast heartbeat
7. Feeling dizzy or fainting
No comments:
Post a Comment