Thread: Brian Vickers hospitalized

Brian Vickers was hospitalized for blood clots in his lungs and legs. I don't know why but I never thought about Nascar drivers being at risk for clots but staying seated for so long they are at very high risk for them. Here's a link to the article Brian Vickers hospitalized with blood clots - ESPN

Originally Posted by nascarchick

Brian Vickers was hospitalized for blood clots in his lungs and legs. I don't know why but I never thought about Nascar drivers being at risk for clots but staying seated for so long they are at very high risk for them. Here's a link to the article Brian Vickers hospitalized with blood clots - ESPN

I have no medical experience whatsoever, but I understand the increased risk of blood clots when seating immobile for lengthy periods of times, such as air traveling. While I know personally how little movement you have when strapped inside a racecar, I also know how much your body moves during acceleration, braking and cornering, just look at a drivers helmet height difference between accelerating and braking, would this amount of movement not help with blood circulation? I also realize that there might be less movement on the driver's body while driving on ovals, as they might not use the brakes until the pits and only shift while leaving the pits and there might not be all that much steering wheel movement, but the g-force alone would put a substantial amount of pressure on the body thus kind of massaging it and helping with the blood circulation, at least that's my uneducated theory.
This is the first time I've heard of a driver suffering from this kind of condition, maybe it is the result of something completely unrelated to driving a race car for lengthy periods of time

Actually there was another article on that same site that did say race car drivers are at an increased risk for blood clots because they sit for so long so I guess the movement they do get isn't enough to keep the circulation up. BTW Vickers was released on Sunday but I don't think he is racing this week.

That is a very dangerous condition to have and yes race car drivers are at an increased risk for blood clots. I am glad he is out but he will probably have to be aware of it from now on.

I'm glad he received treatment before something serious happened. Blood clots in the lungs can be life threatening and if one travels to the heart that's all she wrote.

From what I have heard of blood clots Brian Vickers was lucky that they caught these before they could do too much damage. I wonder if he will get to come back anytime soon?

Absolutely Creg. Out for the rest of the season with the chance to come back next year is way better than being dead and I am sure he and his family feel the same.