Over 32,000 Americans died in motor vehicle accidents last year. (1) We all have the opportunity to decrease that risk personally by wearing our seatbelts. Between 60,000 and 100,000 Americans die each year from blood clots or so called DVT/PE events. (2) Is there a “seatbelt” for our circulatory system to decrease that risk? Now the answer is yes, and that VASCULAR SEATBELTTM is the MEDSHOOLATM COMPRESSION DEVICE. Consider this so you don’t become a statistic.
Our circulatory system can be simplified by dividing it into 2 halves: the arterial side and the venous side. In your home, you can think of the arterial side like the water pressure in your faucets, and on the venous side you can think of the drains in your sinks. Now ask yourself what gets plugged up more in your home, your faucets or your drains?
The heart acts as the pump to power the arterial side (faucets) by forcing blood into our arteries and capillaries to supply our tissues with oxygen and nutrients. Once the blood has passed through the tissues, releasing these essential components, it must return to the heart and lungs to be replenished. This return trip is made through the low pressure venous side of our circulatory system.
The venous system is entirely passive (drains) with no pump like the heart to power this return trip. Our veins (the vessels on the venous side of our system) have one way valves that allow blood to pass in only one direction on its return to the heart. The action of the muscles in our extremities, especially our legs, squeeze the veins, assisting in this one-way return trip to the heart.
In order for this return to occur successfully, many elements must come together. The valves, which are tiny thin leaflets of tissue in our veins, must be intact. We must remain active using the muscles in our legs to continually massage the veins and power the flow of blood through these one-way valves. And the blood itself must remain fluid to pass through the venous system.
Irregularities in any of these elements can result in slowing of that return blood flow, pooling of blood, and the subsequent formation of a blood clot. The formation of a blood clot in our legs is called a deep venous thrombosis or DVT, and the movement of this clot to the lungs, which can be fatal, is called a pulmonary embolism or PE. A short period of time in front of your TV will inevitably expose you to the numerous advertisements for pharmaceutical products to prevent DVT/PE blood clot. To many these ads don’t mean a whole lot, but to those with certain medical conditions, this is a very real problem.
In reality, we are all at risk for blood clots. Certain heart conditions, venous disease of the lower extremities, cancer, advanced age, and clotting disorders put people with these issues at much higher risk. Yet all of us are at much greater risk during certain events typical of a normal lifestyle. Long periods of inactivity decrease the muscular pump action on our veins and result in slowing of venous blood flow in our legs. This significantly increases the risk of blood clots in our legs during activities such as air travel, prolonged sitting periods even at work or during ground travel, and immobility resulting from disease or injury. One of the greatest risk periods follows any operative procedure, particularly orthopedic procedures such as hip and knee replacement. In the medical field, these periods of increased risk are lessened by the use of special external stockings powered by pumps which replicate the normal action of our muscles to compress the veins and create more normal venous blood flow in our legs, thereby decreasing blood pooling and formation of blood clots. These stockings are called sequential compression devices or SCDs for short. Unfortunately, until recently, these devices have been large, cumbersome, and unavailable to the general public during periods of increased risk such as travel and illness.
That is no longer the case. Although there are several “portable” devices available for medical prescription, most are plug in devices that require attachment to a power source, and are still not available without a doctor’s prescription and great cost. The MEDSHOOLATM device changes all of that. This entirely portable device is battery operated, comfortable, compact, and convenient for use anywhere including airplanes, automobiles, trucks, your home, or anywhere or anytime immobility places you at increased risk of a blood clot. No prescription is necessary for its purchase or use, and it is affordable. This cost-effective device may eliminate the need for much more expensive and dangerous drug therapy, or may be used in addition to pharmacologic agents in high risk patients. Don’t be one of these statistics:
Estimates suggest that 60,000-100,000 Americans die annually of DVT/PE (also called venous thromboembolism).
- 10 to 30% of people will die within one month of diagnosis.
- Sudden death is the first symptom in about one-quarter (25%) of people who have a PE.
- Among people who have had a DVT, one-half will have long-term complications (post-thrombotic syndrome) such as swelling, pain, discoloration, and scaling in the affected limb.
- One-third (about 33%) of people with DVT/PE will have a recurrence within 10 years.
- Approximately 5 to 8% of the U.S. population has one of several genetic risk factors, also known as inherited thrombophilias, in which a genetic defect can be identified that increases the risk for thrombosis.
Consider the purchase of your own VASCULAR SEATBELTTM today. Buy the MESHOOLATM before you become a statistic.