An 8-Hour Long Drive in Tight Jeans Nearly Kills a Delhi Man

Delhi Man Suffers DVT, Cardiac Arrest After an 8-Hour Long Drive

Driving non-stop for long periods and wearing tight clothes can put your life at risk. Hard to believe?

In a shocking incident, 30-year-old Saurabh Sharma, a resident of Delhi was found unconscious on the stairs of his office on 12 October 2019. After consistent efforts by his colleagues to bring him back to consciousness, he was rushed to the nearest hospital. His condition worsened during this interval, and he was then referred to Max Hospital, Shalimar Bagh.

Also Read: How Tobacco Smoking Made a Case of DVT Get Worse

With a pulse of 10-12/minute and no BP, doctors at the hospital treated him with a 45-minutes CPR. An ECHO revealed that the right chambers of his heart were dilated when he reached the hospital, and the artery that supplies blood to the lungs indicated a possibility of massive pulmonary embolism — a condition in which a blood clot travels from the limb to block supply to the heart or the brain, often ending in death.

This is also known as Deep vein thrombosis (DVT), when a blood clot forms in the veins of the leg.

Considering his critical condition, the team of doctors including Dr Naveen Bhamri, Dr Devendra Kumar Agarwal and ER team of Dr Datta instantly gave him a life-saving thrombolytic agent to perfoem 'rapid' systematic thrombolysis, which was the only way to revive and arrest any further worsening of his heart.

Dr. Naveen Bhamri, Director & HoD, Cardiology, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Shalimar Bagh“When Sourabh was rushed into the emergency– he was at the brink of death – with no BP or pulse recordable, and limbs had turned blue. Our only priority at that hour was to ensure that we do everything in our power to revive him. After initially successfully reviving his heart, he re-gained consciousness and a stabilised BP in 24 hours. But his urine output was NIL. Due to a low BP over a long period, his kidneys were unable to function properly."

He was immediately put on Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy (CRRT) – a continuous 24-hour dialysis therapy.

Also Read: ‘My Mom Died in a Car Accident’: How Actor Arjun Mathur Coped

Cause? Sitting for 8 Hours!

Doctors explained that the pulmonary embolism (PE) was because of the long duration of his drive without any breaks. His leg became stiff, and the tight-fitted denims he wore prior to the occurence could also have contributed.

PE can happen because of immobility of lower limbs for long duration, dehydration, post-surgery (in case patient is advised bed rest for more than 24 hours), coagulation disorder, pregnancy and some genetic reasons.

So not just the drive, sitting still for such longer durations, even in flights or at office, without any movement in intervals, can be extremely dangerous.

Dr. Naveen Bhamri“Pulmonary Embolism is a potentially life threatening condition and 50% of them present with cardiac arrest. So clinical diagnosis in a patient who turned with cardiac arrest is very important to differentiate the case of cardiac arrest from the other cardiac causes”.

And cardiac issues are just one end of the spectrum. As seen in Sharma's case, BP can have a direct impact on one's eyes, breathing, and essential organs such as kidneys.

The recovery period lasted five days. The patient is now doing well.

Also Read: Listening to Music While Driving Could Reduce Cardiac Stress