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An IT contractor who collapsed at his keyboard after an eight-hour typing stint is warning others of his silent and potentially lethal attacker – deep vein thrombosis. Chris Simmons finished what he described as a normal session home-working as freelance computer programmer, when he was paralysed by an agonising pain in his chest. Speaking to The Daily Mail, the 41-year-old said he suffered a blood clot which moved from his leg to his lung, and could have caused a stroke if it reached his brain. Unable to move but remaining conscious, Simmons was left stranded at his desk, desperately trying to figure out why he was in so much pain. “It was absolutely terrifying,” he reportedly said. “I collapsed on my desk and had my head on the keyboard. “I couldn’t move for an hour as the pain was so bad. I had stabbing pains in what felt like my left kidney. It was the worst pain I have ever felt.” The trauma continued until long-term partner, Elaine Beck, returned to their Bristol home to find Simmons, who admits to spending his working life at a desk, bent up over his work station. He later coughed up blood and the ‘pulmonary embolism’ – when part of the clot from a deep vein thrombosis breaks off, moves up the leg, through the heart and lodges in a lung artery. Up to one in every 1,000 Brits are affected by venous thrombosis each year, yet up to one in 10 people who suffer a pulmonary embolism will die if they do not receive treatment. The figures, from Lifeblood, a charity working to raise awareness of DVT, emerge as medical specialists are warning that the incidence of the condition is on the increase. Chiefly to blame is the long hours culture associated with freelance and corporate working, combined with youngsters leading more sedentary lifestyles. “Sitting for long periods in an office has never been considered a risk but immobility is a key factor in thrombosis,” said Dr Beverely Hunt director of Lifeblood. She added that the threat of ‘e-thrombosis’ will be raised this week in the first ever National Thrombosis Week, to alert people to the dangers of working day and night in front of computers. Already Lifeblood estimates that more than 60,000 deaths are caused every year in Britain by pulmonary embolisms, “yet most people have little or no understanding about its causes, effects and how it can prevented.” The unprecedented campaign to raises awareness of DVT has been joined by Simmons, who has warned office workers and people who sit at their desk for long periods are most at risk. In fact, the identified risk factors which increase the chance of being struck down by the condition are commonplace among freelance IT contractors. Lifeblood says your likelihood increases when any of the following combine with each other at the same time; increasing age, immobility, long travel, pregnancy, cancer treatment and already acquired DVT, such as through inheritance. “Someone may have been born with an inherited thrombophilia, but will not have a thrombosis until other risk factors are present which increase the risk,” the charity said in a statement. “When someone has a venous thrombosis, it is usually because more than one risk factor is present at any one time.” Symptoms of DVT include pain, tenderness and swelling of the leg, sometimes accompanied with discoloration. Similarly, any of the said-symptoms, plus shortness of breath, pain upon inhaling and even collapse, are the main preemptive signs a person is suffering from a pulmonary embolism. As DVT occurs when the blood flow is restricted and blockages form, typically in the legs, preventative steps include regular exercise, healthy diet, low alcohol intake and no smoking. Since being ‘absolutely terrified,’ Simmons has reportedly changed his working ways. "I’ve spent all my working life at my desk – eight or nine hours a day,” he said. "Now I get up from the computer more often, even if it’s just to play with the cats or make a cup of tea." May 10, 2006 Email this article Printer friendly page Previous Page
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