Blood Clots the Leading Cause of Preventable Deaths in US Hospitals

It can start with something simple that’s easily written off—a feeling of lightheadedness or a sore leg muscle.  Symptoms of blood clots can be non-specific or even nonexistent until they become life-threatening. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that 100,000 people in the United States die from blood clots every year. The National Blood Clot Alliance puts that number much higher, at up to 300,000 annual deaths. That’s more than the combined number of fatalities caused by car crashes, breast cancer, and AIDS, according to the Alliance. There’s also a hidden danger for people who suffer from blood clots in U.S. hospitals. Nearly half of all patients aren’t receiving proper preventative treatment, according to the CDC. With one out of every 10 hospital mortalities attributed to a blood clot in the lungs, the agency asserts it’s now the leading cause of preventable hospital deaths in the United States....