WELCOME BACK. DID YOU KNOW THAT EVERY SIX MINUTES SOMEONE DIES OF A BLOOD CLOT IN THE U.S.? THAT'S ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL BLOOD CLOT ALLIANCE. RAISING AWARENESS IN HONOR OF BLOOD CLOT AWARENESS MONTH. DOCTORS SAY BLOOD CLOTS CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE AT ANY AGE. GINGER ZEE ABC NEWS ORGAN NORWOOD WITH WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR, WAS A BIG, BIG SHOCK TO ME. HUSBAND AND FATHER OF TWO , TOM BUFALINO HAS ALWAYS BEEN A PHYSICALLY ACTIVE PERSON BACK IN 2017, BUFALINO WAS IN HIS FIFTIES COACHING RUNNERS FOR AN UPCOMING MARATHON WHEN HE NOTICES SOMETHING'S NOT RIGHT. I WAS STOPPING EVERY COUPLE OF HUNDRED YARDS TO CATCH MY BREATH, BUFALINO SAYS. HIS CONDITION WORSENED OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS, AND WHEN HE COULDN'T MAKE UP A SET OF STAIRS, HE WENT TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM. >> IT WAS AN OVERWHELMING FEELING THAT I JUST COULDN'T BREATHE, HE SAYS. >> AFTER HOURS OF TESTS, DOCTORS SCANNED FOR BLOOD CLOTS. >> BLOOD CLOTS CAN HAPPEN ANYWHERE IN THE BODY. AND WHAT'S MORE CONCERNING IS THAT THAT BLOOD CLOT CAN IN TRAVEL OR IMMOBILIZED TO OTHER PARTS OF THE BODY, WHICH CAN LEAD TO FATAL INJURIES. >> BUFALINO SUFFERED FROM A PULMONARY EMBOLISM, BLOOD CLOTS TRAVELED TO THE LUNGS. >> THE CLOT HAD STARTED IN HIS LEG. YOU WHEN YOU'RE PHYSICALLY FIT, YOU YOU THINK IT'S MANY OTHER THINGS. AND YOU GOOGLE SYMPTOMS AND IT COMES UP WITH EVERYTHING. >> IT DIDN'T NEVER CAME UP WITH BLOOD CLOTS. THE CARDIOLOGIST AT THE HOSPITAL PRESCRIBED BUFALINO BLOOD THINNERS FOR SIX MONTHS. THEN HE GOT BACK TO RUNNING. THREE YEARS LATER, HE EXPERIENCED SOMETHING ALL TOO FAMILIAR. HE WAS SUFFERING FROM ANOTHER PULMONARY EMBOLISM. >> I KNEW IMMEDIATELY WHAT IT WAS. >> THEN I WENT TO THE HOSPITAL. IT WAS WORSE THE SECOND TIME AROUND. BUFALINO CONSIDERS HIMSELF LUCKY. >> SURVIVING PULMONARY EMBOLISM TWICE. I THINK ABOUT MY BLOOD CLOTS EVERY DAY. I THINK ABOUT HOW THEY AFFECTED ME WHEN I HAD THEM, MY RECOVERY AND I THINK ABOUT WHAT I CAN DO TO MAKE SURE IT DOESN'T HAPPEN AGAIN. >> SOME RISK FACTORS FOR BLOOD CLOTS INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO RECENT TRAVEL. WHEN YOU'RE SITTING FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME. RECENT SURGERY, MEDICATIONS THAT CONTAIN ESTROGEN, PREGNANCY, CANCER, RECENT COVID-19 INFECTION, AND GENETICS. BUT DOCTORS SAY IT'S STILL POSSIBLE TO DEVELOP A BLOOD CLOT WITHOUT ANY OF THOSE RISK FACTORS. >> IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS PAIN, WARM, SWELLING, ESPECIALLY IF IT'S ONE LEG AND NOT THE OTHER. >> AND IF YOU'RE EXPERIENCING SUDDEN BREATHLESSNESS, DIFFICULTY BREATHING, SHORTNESS OF BREATH, COUGHING, BLOOD AND FAINTING, GO TO THE E.R. BLOOD CLOTS CAN KILL YOU. AND IF YOU HAVE ANY INDICATION THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE BLOOD CLOTS ,YOU NEED TO GO TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM ASAP. AND YOU NEED TO ADVOCATE FOR YOURSELF. >> THAT'S GREAT ADVICE. MORGAN NORWOOD, THANKS FOR THAT. AND ABC NEWS MEDICAL CONTRIBUTOR, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN DR. DARIEN SUTTON JOINS ME NOW FOR MORE ON THIS. DR. THAT AND THANKS FOR COMING ON . FIRST, CAN YOU JUST REITERATE THE BIG BLOOD CLOT SYMPTOMS THAT WE SHOULD BE WATCHING OUT FOR? >> ABSOLUTELY DIRE. >> AND IT'S SUCH A COMMON DIAGNOSIS. IT'S ESTIMATED THAT ONE ONE THOUSAND AMERICANS GET THIS DIAGNOSIS EVERY SINGLE YEAR. IN FACT, THIS PAST WEEK IN THE EMERGENCY ROOM AT A PATIENT THAT PRESENTED WITH THE MOST COMMON SYMPTOMS, WHICH INCLUDE PAIN, SWELLING AND WARMTH OF SPECIFIC EXTREMITY. AND THANKFULLY, THEIR DIAGNOSIS WAS ABLE TO BE CONFIRMED WITH AN ULTRASOUND. AND I WAS ABLE TO START THEM ON THE APPROPRIATE ANTICOAGULATION TO PREVENT THAT BLOOD CLOT FROM TRAVELING OR IMMOBILIZING, CAUSING WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN THIS PATIENT, A PULMONARY EMBOLISM WHICH CARRIES UP TO A 30% RISK OF DEATH. SO IT'S VITAL AND IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS AND WHEN TO GO TO THE DOCTOR . >> SOME OF US ARE MORE VULNERABLE THAN OTHERS. SO WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BIG RISK FACTORS? >> EVERYONE IS AT A BASELINE RISK, BUT THERE ARE SOME FACTORS IN HISTORY THAT MAKE ME MORE SUSPICIOUS AND MORE LIKELY TO GO IN SEARCH FOR THAT POSSIBILITY OF A BLOOD CLOT. AND THAT INCLUDES RECENT TRAVEL. I'LL GO TO THAT. MORE SPECIFICALLY, TRAVELED MORE THAN FOUR HOURS, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE SITTING STILL AND NOT REALLY GETTING UP A HISTORY OF CANCER, A HISTORY OF COVID-19 FOR THOSE PATIENTS WHO HAVE HAD COVID-19 THE RISK TO DEVELOPING A BLOOD CLOT CAN STAY ELEVATED UP TO SIX MONTHS AFTER THEIR DIAGNOSIS. AND THE MEDICATIONS THAT CONTAIN ESTROGEN, FOR EXAMPLE, BIRTH CONTROL PATIENTS WHO ARE ON BIRTH CONTROL AND ALSO SMOKE CIGARETTES HAVE A SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER RISK OF BLOOD CLOT DEVELOPMENT AND THEN ALSO PREGNANCY PROVIDES INCREASED RISK OF DEVELOPMENT OF AN INAPPROPRIATE BLOOD CLOT. >> SO, DR. SUTTON, HOW DO YOU PREVENT IT, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE IN ONE OF THESE CATEGORIES? >> FOR PREVENTION? THE KEY IS UNDERSTANDING YOUR RISK AND MAKING A NUMBER ONE , THAT YOU TALK TO YOUR PROVIDER, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE ABOUT TO GO ON LONG TRAVEL. YOU MAY BE A CANDIDATE FOR MEDICATIONS THAT CAN HELP DECREASE YOUR RISK OF DEVELOPING A BLOOD CLOT AND THEN ALSO HOW YOUR HOW YOUR DRESSING ARE. YOU CAN WEAR COMPRESSION STOCKINGS, COMFORTABLE CLOTHING. AND MY RECOMMENDATION IS THAT IF YOU'RE TRAVELING, YOU SHOULD BE GETTING MOVING AND STRETCHING AT LEAST EVERY ONE TO TWO HOURS, THAT CAN HELP REDUCE YOUR RISK OF DEVELOPING A BLOOD CLOT OR JUST GET YOURSELF