- May Thurner syndrome occurs when an artery presses on a vein, causing a clot
- Cardiologist told DailyMail.com sitting for just an hour uninterrupted is risky
- READ MORE: Lauren Boebert back on the campaign trail days after surgery
Doctors are warning about the risks that come with prolonged sitting after Republican congresswoman Lauren Boebert was rushed to surgery for a blood clot in her leg.
Rep Boebert, who represents the third district of Colorado, has May Thurner syndrome, which occurs when an artery presses on a vein, causing a blood clot in the leg that travels to the heart.
She had emergency surgery to remove the clot and thus preventing it from traveling from the leg to the lungs, blocking blood flow to them.
About one in five women have May Thurner syndrome, which can cause swelling, heaviness, or fullness in the left leg or foot, ulcers or open sores in the legs due to problems with veins that do not heal, and varicose veins in your leg.
Dr Bethany Barone Gibbs, a cardiologist at West Virginia University, told DailyMail.com that sitting for just one hour without standing up to stretch your legs is enough to raise the risk of a blood clot.
Rep Boebert of Colorado is reportedly recovering well after emergency surgery to remove a blood clot
Rep Boebert had a stent implanted in the vein to expand it, and therefore breaks up the clot, restoring healthy blood flow to and from the heart
May Thurner syndrome is most common in women, specifically women who have had children.
This could be due to several factors. Women tend to have wider pelvises compared to men, and the left iliac vein passes between the spine and the right iliac artery, which crosses over it.
Pregnancy and childbirth involve significant hormonal changes, including increased levels of estrogen and progesterone, which could affect the elasticity of blood vessels and may contribute to veins becoming compressed, leading to restricted bloodflow.
Normally, veins and arteries continually carry blood throughout your body. Your arteries take oxygen-rich blood from your heart and deliver it to the tissues throughout your body, and veins carry the oxygen-poor blood back to your heart and lungs.
But in the case of May Thurner, the right iliac artery presses on the left iliac vein.
The right iliac artery is the main blood vessel carrying blood to your right leg, and the left iliac vein carries blood from your left leg back to your heart. May-Thurner syndrome may interrupt typical blood flow through your legs.
The exact cause of the disorder is still under investigation, but studies have suggested that prolonged sitting plays an important role.
Dr Gibbs said: ‘It really has to be prolonged because what happens is when you’re circulation is really stimulated by muscles contracting, that’s a really awesome physiological condition that allows heart pumping and gravity to get to our feet.’
Sitting for as little as an hour up to about four hours without getting up for about 10 minutes is enough to lead to a blood clot in the leg, Dr Gibbs said, though scientists have not yet nailed down the definitive number of hours necessary to cause a clot.
Dr Gibbs told DailyMail.com: ‘When you sit, you do not use your muscles so that very important part of circulation is not active.
‘That’s why in the olden days, when we didn’t have computers, they used to say on planes wear compression socks, or stand up a bit. That prolonged sitting wasn’t common like it is now.’
It’s not clear what caused Rep Boebert’s condition. To remedy the clot, doctors inserted a balloon to open the vein and a tube-like stent to keep the vein open.
Her campaign said: ‘After taking time to rest as recommended by doctors, she is expected to make a full recovery with no significant concerns for her long-term health and no hindrance to her ability to perform her duties as a Congresswoman.’
