Deadly blood clots, risky treatments: The high-stakes battle against deep vein thrombosis in sports and beyond

Deadly blood clots, risky treatments: The high-stakes battle against deep vein thrombosis in sports and beyond

Milwaukee Bucks’ Damian Lillard looks on from the bench during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Detroit Pistons on April 13, 2025, in Milwaukee. Lillard was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis in March. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash) by Peter Anthony Andrisani, McMaster University and Colin Kretz, McMaster University Seven-time NBA all-star Damian Lillard, 34, recently joined a growing list of NBA athletes to be sidelined by a diagno…

The incidence of a first case of deep vein thrombosis of lower limbs is between 50 and 100 cases per 100,000 inhabitants per year. The figures are not baladí, since PDV together with pulmonary embolism (known as thromboembolic disease) constitute the third cause of cardiovascular death, only surpassed by myocardial infarction and stroke. Specifically, it is estimated that one in 100 patients with deep vein thrombosis dies. And in the most seriou…