Regis Philbin To Have Blood Clot Removed from His Leg

Next week Regis Philbin (78) says he will have a blood clot removed from the calf of his leg, which he says causes him a lot of pain when he walks.

In 2007 Philbin had triple coronary artery bypass surgery, and in December of 2009 he had hip replacement surgery. On Thursday he said:

"One of the things you’ve got to do when you get a new hip is continue to walk, but I can’t walk very long."

The danger of a clot is that all or part of it could break off, circulate to the brain, heart, kidney, lungs, or something else important and cut off the blood circulation killing that tissue, and killing the person.

To return blood back to the heart to circulate again throughout the body, the body uses muscles to squeeze the blood in veins back to the heart. Each time a person moves, or walks, those muscles squeeze blood in veins, and when the muscles relax valves in the viens keep the blood from moving backward. If a person does not move enough the blood pools in the veins, which will eventually form a clot, even if the person is taking blood thinners as Philbin certainly is for his heart condition. People on long international flights who cannot walk around during the flight have been known to develop a deep vein thrombosus (DVT), or blood clot, in the calf muscle area of the lower leg. Walking, and moving, helps to prevent blood clots.

A year or two ago three bloggers had heart attacks, and one died, most likely from clots due to long periods of physical inactivity while writing.

The bottom line no matter who you are is move frequently to keep the blood circulating back to the heart.

Posted in: Regis Philbin