Patriots' Christian Barmore treated for blood clots, how common is diagnosis among athletes?
FOXBORO - Football is just a game. Somehow, player health constantly puts that into perspective. The news of Patriots defensive star Christian Barmore is no different. The tackle is out indefinitely with blood clots, but he isn't the first player on his team to fight the condition.
His diagnosis comes five years after his teammate, David Andrews, was sidelined for a year with blood clots. Fans felt the same way then, as they do now.
"Obviously it's a big loss for the Patriots. Scary for him. Health is more important," said Tim Daily, a Patriots fan at training camp.
"Big loss to the defensive line this year. He just signed a big contract. It's a big void to fill," added fellow fan Kevin Bjorklund talking about Barmore.
Why are athletes dealing with blood clots? Is there any correlation?
"In general, compared to the regular population, I don't think they are at higher risk," said Dr. Payam Salehi, Chief Vascular Surgeon at Tufts Medical Center.
He says blood clots are extremely common, impacting about 80 in 100,000 people. The majority tend to be older patients.
"Younger patients may happen with some inherited clotting disorder, or family history," said Dr. Salehi.
They can also happen from abnormal anatomy. Salehi says some athletes can get blood clots in the shoulder if they use it repeatedly, and naturally have a very tight spacing in their neck. This may be someone competing in tennis, baseball, or swimming.
Blood clot symptoms
He says symptoms typically show as swelling or pain when people are on their feet for long periods of time. These risks get worse with dehydration or long plane flights. Both are commonplace in professional sports.
"Usually we recommend someone with DVT (deep vein thrombosis, a type of blood clot) they don't fly for three to four weeks. Once they are on blood thinner, they should be able to travel," said Dr. Salehi.
Those people with inherited blood clots may need to be on blood thinners for life.
"You can't be a football player on blood thinner," said Salehi.