SIU professor shares important health info for Blood Clot Awareness Month

CARBONDALE, Ill. (KFVS) - March is Blood Clot Awareness Month and one SIU professor is working to educate people about this health concern.

“It definitely is something that can have a huge impact on somebody’s life,” said Professor of Sports and Exercise Psychology Julie Partridge. “Blood clots are actually not an unusual diagnosis for people to get.”

Partridge said around nine hundred thousand people get diagnosed with blood clots each year and about one hundred thousand of those diagnosed die each year--that’s more than AIDS, breast cancer and car accidents combined.

“It is also a very treatable condition, if people catch it early enough,” Partridge said.

Which is why she said she wants people to look for symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pain or racing heart and passing out--even if they’re young.

“A lot of people just really aren’t aware of blood clots that that can happen and that it can happen to anybody,” Partridge said. “I think a lot of times people only associate it with older individuals, but it is something that can happen to almost anyone.”

She said preventing blood clots can be as easy as changing your day-to-day activities.

“Being physically active--so you know you want to make sure that you’re not sitting for long periods of time, staying hydrated is another important one,” Partridge said. “We know that one of the risk factors can be long periods of travel. A lot of times people--if you get into a plane or you get into a car--you sit and don’t get up and move.”

More information about Partridge and her information on blood clots can be found on SIU’s website. She also said you can learn more from the National Blood Clot Alliance.

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