Theresa Nwagha, a public health haematologist, said blood clots, also known as Venous Thromboembolism, remain a major cause of sudden deaths globally.

Ms Nwagha made the call on Thursday in Enugu while delivering the 252nd Inaugural Lecture of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

According to the haematologist, VTE occurs when blood clots form in the veins and block normal blood flow, revealing that about 10 million cases of blood clots occur globally each year, resulting in about two million deaths.

The blood specialist said blood clots could affect both sick and apparently healthy people, and sometimes lead to sudden death.

According to her, 25 percent of the time, people with blood clots have no symptoms. The professor of Haematology and Coagulation Medicine listed VTE risk factors as including prolonged sitting, obesity, stress, and long-distance journeys lasting more than four hours.

She restated the need always to assess the risk of thrombosis or blood clots to prevent sudden deaths popularly known as “fall and die”. She explained that sitting for long periods, especially while working on computers, could cause blood to remain stagnant in the lower legs, increasing the risk of clot formation.

She added that blood clots could sometimes be mistaken for muscle injuries, exercise-induced asthma or ordinary fatigue.

The professor called for hospital-wide risk assessment and preventive treatment, known as thromboprophylaxis, to reduce VTE cases.

She called for integrating VTE awareness and early identification into primary healthcare.

Ms Nwagha said low public awareness, gaps in medical training and the loss of healthcare professionals to migration had affected efforts to improve VTE management.

She said these challenges contributed to the UNTH’s establishment of the Anticoagulation Steward Committee.

“We want to convert anticoagulation from a fearfully understood clinical hazard into a highly disciplined standard life-saving medical act,” she said.

The professor also highlighted the importance of multidisciplinary care for women, particularly during pregnancy and other reproductive health conditions where blood clotting could pose serious risks. According to her, proper teamwork among healthcare professionals could improve outcomes for women at risk.

“Women on oral contraceptives, IVF, high doses of oestrogen and even athletes are at risk of thrombosis,” she said.

Ms Nwagha also discussed using digital health and artificial intelligence to improve VTE risk assessment and provide more precise care.

(NAN)