ATLANTA — A community is mourning the loss of a beloved daycare worker, but hoping her death can help make others aware of the dangers of blood clots.
Sydney Carter, 27, died from blood clots the day after Thanksgiving. She worked at the Trinity Early Learning Center on Howell Mill Road in Atlanta.
Channel 2′s Tyisha Fernandes learned that blood clots are killing more than 100,000 people every year.
Carter tried to get to the hospital when she didn’t feel right last week, but it was too late.
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“It’s a major public health crisis,” Leslie Lake with the National Blood Clot Alliance said.
Lake told Fernandes she began working with the National Blood Clot Alliance after she had a blood clot that nearly killed her. She says she had been at the hospital for nine hours before doctors performed any tests to check for blood clots.
“Almost a million people get a blood clot, and of those who do get one, a lot of them have long-term complications,” Lake explained. “But a lot of it is preventable with more education and awareness which doesn’t exist other than us. This is a public health crisis that really needs to be tackled by the government.”
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She also said that Black men and women get more blood clots than anyone else and the rate can be as much as 60% higher than Caucasian people.
Typically, blood clots form in your arms or legs and can be deadly if they travel to your lungs.
If you have pain, discoloration or your skin is hot for no reason, you should get tested.
A state representative here in Georgia is also looking to designate March as Blood Clot Awareness Month.
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