Why are blood clots claiming lives of prominent people, army generals?

According to our preliminary study, a famous politician or army general in Uganda is more likely to die of a blood clot than from an accident.

Maj Gen Paul Lokech, the deputy inspector general of police, is the most recent addition to the list of individuals who have died as a result of the infamous blood clots.

Lokech died as a consequence of a clot caused by an injury he suffered in his bathroom, according to an official police statement.

However, what exactly are blood clots and why are they so dangerous?

Blood clots are aggregates of blood of varying sizes that develop inside our bodies, according to numerous medical authorities.

According to scientists, clotting is necessary to avoid excessive bleeding in the event of an injury or a cut.

When a blood clot limits blood flow to vital organs, however, it can be dangerous, even fatal.

There are two forms of blood clots, according to medical authorities.

Clots that stay put and don’t move (thrombosis) and those that break away from where they formed and go to various parts of your body (thrombosis) (embolism).

A blood clot can be fatal depending on what it blocks or where it travels.

The symptoms vary depending on the location of the blood clot. You may suffer discomfort (that feels like an acute cramp), swelling, and soreness if the clot is in your arms or legs. Where the clot is, your skin may be red and heated to the touch.

You may feel severe stomach discomfort, vomiting, and diarrhoea if the blood clot is in your abdomen.

A heavy sensation or discomfort in your chest, pain in your upper body, shortness of breath, sweating, nausea, and light-headedness are all symptoms of blood clots that migrate to your heart.

A blood clot in the brain can result in facial, arm, or leg paralysis, speech and visual problems, headaches, and dizziness.

Blood clots are caused by a variety of factors.

Blood clots have a variety of reasons, according to medical sources. Lengthy durations of sitting (as is commonly the case while traveling and compelled to sit for long amounts of time in an airline, train, or automobile);
Bed rest over an extended period of time (as is commonly the case after surgery or sickness); Birth control pills/hormone replacement therapy/breast cancer medications; Pregnancy; Smoking; Obesity; Certain malignancies (pancreatic, lung, multiple myeloma, and tumors of the blood); Trauma is a term that refers to a major injury. Some forms of major surgery; age (particularly those over 60); and a family history of blood clots, to name a few..

Lwanga, Cyprian (April 2021)

Archbishop Cyprian Lwanga died peacefully in his sleep on April 2021. Lwanga’s death, like Lokech’s, was shocking because he had been seen in public just the day before.

Lwanga died of a heart attack caused by a blood clot, according to a post-mortem study conducted by Mulago national referral hospital.

After a coronary thrombosis, Lwanga died of ischemic heart disease.

Dr. Andrew Ssekitooleko, the Diocesan Health Coordinator for Kampala Diocese, explained, “This indicates a heart attack caused by a blood clot located inside the artery that provides blood to the heart.”

Eriya Kategaya is a fictional character created by Eriya Kategaya

Eriya Kategaya, the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of East African Community Affairs, died in a Nairobi hospital in March 2013.

According to media reports, Kategaya was said to be suffering from a condition known as Thrombosis (a blockage preventing the flow of blood in the body caused by a clot or a lump of blood.

The clot is said to have been in the leg and medical experts had apparently stopped him from much activity, saying it could move upwards.

Apolo Nsibambi

Nsibambi was prime minister of Uganda from 1999 to 2011. He died in May 2019. Officially Nsibambi was battling cancer but during a special sitting of Parliament in which MPs paid tribute to him, Prime Minister Dr Ruhakana Rugunda said that Prof Nsibambi succumbed to pulmonary embolism.

“The cause of death according to the post-mortem report by doctors is pulmonary embolism which is a clot in the lungs,” Dr Rugunda said.

Maj Gen Kasirye Gwanga

The controversial soldier died in May 2020 from Nakasero hospital where he had been hospitalised for weeks.

His death, according to media reports, was attributed to effects of an operation to remove a blood clot in one of the vessels in his head.

Gwanga had also suffered from lung-related complications for years.

Maj Gen Julius Oketta

Major General Julius Oketta was deputy coordinator of Operation Wealth Creation.

He died in November 2016 after he suffered a blockage in a blood vessel in the lungs, according to a postmortem report.

Oketta died from Kadic Hospital, Bukoto moments after he complained of severe chest pain. Initial reports indicated that he suffered a heart attack.

However, the postmortem report indicates that he died of Massive Pulmonary Embolism; a condition that usually results from a blood clot.