Mystery blood clots kill U.S. troops

prolog.net ^ | Monday, 06-Oct-2003 8:58PM | United Press International

[Destro]

Mystery blood clots kill U.S. troops Monday

06-Oct-2003 8:58PM

Story from United Press International

Copyright 2003 by United Press International (via ClariNet)

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Several U.S. soldiers in the Iraqi war died from sudden illnesses and a United Press International probe shows those were triggered by unexplained blood clots.

The Pentagon says blood clots caused two soldiers to collapse and die. At least eight other soldiers have also collapsed and died from what the military has described as non-combat-related causes.

NBC reporter David Bloom also died of a blood clot in his lung after collapsing near Baghdad.

The UPI investigation by reporter Mark Benjamin also points to another disturbing factor of soldiers becoming ill or dying from similar ailments in the United States. In some cases, the soldiers, their families and civilian doctors blame vaccines given to them by the military, particularly the anthrax or smallpox shots.

Some of the soldiers who died suddenly had complained about symptoms suffered by Bloom -- including pain in the legs that could indicate problems with blood clots.

The UPI investigation found 17 soldiers who died of sudden illnesses.

"I would say that that number of cases (blood clot deaths) among young healthy troops would seem to be unusual," said Dr. Jeffrey Sartin, an infectious diseases doctor at the Gundersen Clinic in La Crosse, Wis.

[TheAngryClam]

I just wanted to inject some tinfoil hats into the discussion.

And didn't that kill by damaging blood vessels and thus causing massive clotting?

[Vigilantcitizen]

"Dehydration leads to hypotension not hypertension."

Let me share something that happened to me last summer.

I'm 36 years old. 5'7" 150 pounds in good physical shape with no prior history of high blood pressure. Having grown up in Georgia, I have what I consider to be a fairly high tolerance to heat. Up untill last summer, I've never had any problem with heat whatsoever.

I had just returned to my job from my lunch break. All of a sudden, I got a little dizzy. I wrote it off as a product of the 70 hour weeks we had been working, and kept at it. The dizzyness got worse. I went and sat down in my air conditioned office, and called my boss on the phone.

In a matter of minutes, the dizzyness got worse, I was sweating bullets, it was really hard to breath. I told my now present boss, who was more scared than I was, to call an ambulance. From that point untill I woke up in the local ER with a saline bag dripping into my arm, I don't remember much.

After I came to, a doctor explained to me what happened. Because of long term dehydration, due to me not drinking enough water(I was a pepsi freak)over a long period of time, certain electrolytes that help control BP were depleted in my blood. This allowed my BP to spike real high, real quick, even though I had never had BP problems before.

In the year since, I've had three check ups and had tests run, with no further problems.

[archy]

I just wanted to inject some tinfoil hats into the discussion.

And didn't that kill by damaging blood vessels and thus causing massive clotting?

Via a biological agent obtained from a sattelite collector outside the Earth's atmosphere, IIRC, with a result of turning all the blood in the pt to powder, clotting internally and completely. It also dissolved teflon seals of the biosecurity containment lab in which it was being examined, causing all sorts of interesting little difficulties.

Personally, I think the sci-fi giant ants or grasshoppers are more likely. But Crichton's book and the movie make for an interesting analogy.

Those of us more knowledgable about the rays being beamed to Earth use Gold foil in our hats.

-archy-/-

[Destro]

It is not involved--I just put it out there.

[Destro]

I saw the movie on late night TV.

[Lijahsbubbe]

Wow, that's scary. I'm glad everything worked out okay for you. I'm a pepsi lover too, so I know how easy it can be to not be getting the water that you need, plus adding caffeine.

I don't know how you survived 70 hour weeks. Hats off to ya!

[Lijahsbubbe]

I-might-not-be-wrong-after-all ping!!! Read post 42! I knew today was gonna be a great day! ; )

[archy]

Is there any similar occurance in Army history? That column went for a long time without stopping.

I'm not aware of any particularly widespread reports of anything similar among the British Eighth Army's *Desert Rats* of WWII, who endured similarly harsh consditions for long duration, nor do I know of any particular reports of anything similar on the Axis side, though incidents involving poisoned water holes, heat prostration and dehydration and other incapaciting maladies were no stranger, of course. My war college thesis was on operations of the period in Libyan Cyrenaica, so I think I'd have come across references to such at some point in my research.

Of course the biblical plagues of Moses come to mind....maybe those familiar with the appropriate verses from the Chapter of the Apocalypse would be able to find a comparison.

-archy-/-

[archy]

Could it also be from sitting prone in a combat vehicle for hours on end? (Like the cases that arise from long plane rides)

That's *Orthostatic hypotension* common in tank crews who sit for extended periods, then get out of the vehicle and stretch, their blood flows back into the extremities, particularly legs that have had the circulation cut off, and as a result, the supply of blood to the brain is lessened, and they zonk right out. It's rarely fatal, though, unless they're standing atop the back deck or on the turret and fall, that being a cause of an occasional serious injury or fatality.

Back in the 1960s, Dexamyl and other amphetimine *speed* was sometimes given to crews both as endurance-enhancing *go pills* and to kick up the blood pressure of those who'd suffered cramping or dizziness from their seated positions inside the tanks. There was a point of diminished returns, of course, especially if long term-use were to become a problem. In the event of a Soviet tank invasion of West Germany, long use of anything was not a likely problem for us.

Followup expanded UPI story FReepposted *here*.

[FormerlyAnotherLurker]

Sorry. Still wrong. Open Google or the like and search for "dehydration blood pressure" and note the the results. The first page is all pages of 'dehydration causes hypotension.' Except for one ad site for medical products. I didn't go to results 11-whatever.
Anecdotal tales are interesting and I'm glad the author of post #42 is fine but note the Pepsi 'addiction' which is what (probably) caused an electrolyte imbalance. W/o a blood work it's impossible to tell further.
But, since every medical textbook I have says dehydration causes low pressure and the sites, I quickly checked, all agree on it it I fail to see the (sorry getting sarcastic again).
If the Google returned sites aren't enough - ask a doctor, in person.

The Merck Manual has a nice page on dehydration:
Merck Manual

I am curious as to where you found the original info -
"Dehydration puts your body under greater stress because all your organs start to compete for the limited amount of water circulating in the blood. This in turn increases your blood pressure."
that started all this.

[MHGinTN]

BINGO! Electrolyte depletion will bring on clots in any aged individual, especially if on their feet or butt for lengthy sessions in very hot, stressful situations.

[Lijahsbubbe]

Believe it or not, when my post got pulled, I went back to find the information and can't locate it. I know I typed in clotting + dehydration.

[FormerlyAnotherLurker]

Don't misunderstand, I believe you. My concern with the post was that in a few days to weeks it would start being returned by search engines when someone typed in ____? and since it's contraindicated by an overwhelming number of medical sources someone might rely on it for self-diagnosis or treatment. (Influenced by sitting next to a lawyer-friend whose eyes glazed over at the thought of a lawsuit! She's actually nice and gorgeous but still a shark.)

[cookcounty]

It would be helpful if the reporters would establish a baseline of how often these events occur in the rest of the military population.

But I'm not confident they're smart enough to figure out why that might be valuable. ---Probably it would get in the way of a "hey look at this" factor in their stories.

[cookcounty]

"Probably unrelated but worth considering: Prolonged sitting in airplanes causing blood clots"

If this is the cause, you should see higher numbers at the beginning of the conflict (the "major combat phase") , when our guys were spending a lot more time cramped up in tanks and APCs.

[FormerlyAnotherLurker]

BINGO!
The page you got it from is:
www.airtravelsurvival.com

I have no idea who the author is other than he is wrong. I don't see an M.D. after his name so his medical opining is worthlesss. Perhaps he just misquoted something but...
eHotelsSearch.com is not what I would call a good reference for medical info.

[Lijahsbubbe]

That could be possibly the first time I posted informatin without a link, and I don't know why I did. Just so I could be tortured by this thread, I guess. LOL.

I have tried to find it several times, but can't. I'll let you know if I do!

It's still a great day. We had an appraiser come thru our house today, and I think my house has never been so clean! So now I can kick back and enjoy the week. Mid seventies and eighties here in Minneesoota!

[Lijahsbubbe]

eHotelsSearch.com is not what I would call a good reference for medical info

You're right, next time I'll try car rentals!

[FormerlyAnotherLurker]

LOL
- lunch is over so...

[FormerlyAnotherLurker]

Odd that Amazon doesn't list his book (title or author). Perhaps self-published? I jsut know I wouldn't spend anything on it.



(the 'jsut' is there just to give you a shot at me!)