Actress Lainie Kazan Turns the Spotlight on DVTs

Mar. 23 -- THURSDAY, May 24 (HealthDay News) -- Thirty years ago, a tiny blood clot in her leg could have ended the life of celebrated actress and singer Lainie Kazan.

"I had broken a foot and was in a cast and headed to Australia for work," said Kazan, now in her mid-60s and the star of dozens of films and television shows, including My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Beaches and Will & Grace.

Waiting in a wheelchair at the airport, Kazan felt what she thought were the symptoms of the flu. She called her doctor, asking him if he could meet her and give her a flu shot.

"He said 'Lainie, you're not going anywhere.' He was very savvy and diagnosed me on the phone," Kazan said.

That quick thinking probably saved her life, since the clot, known as deep vein thrombosis (DVT), had already moved from Kazan's leg to her lung, forming a potentially lethal blockage called a pulmonary embolism.

She ended up in the hospital on the critical list for more than a month.

Nowadays, the ever-busy performer is acting in a whole new role as spokeswoman, warning Americans that DVT can happen to anyone, at any age.

"I truly could've died from this condition if I had gotten on that plane," she said. "DVT affects up to 2 million people each year in the United States, and up to 300,000 people die from pulmonary embolisms -- that's more than breast cancer and AIDS combined."

Kazan, who's been nominated for Tony, Emmy and Golden Globe awards, is headlining a special education campaign called DVT Blood Clots: Know The Stats. Know Your Risk, sponsored by drug maker Sanofi-Aventis. To get a better understanding of their risk, "people can go to the campaign's Web site, www.dvt.net, or call 1-866-MY-DVT-RISK, or just talk to their physician," she said. "I just think it's very important for people to know their risk."

Experts stress that DVTs -- which are strongly linked to prolonged immobility -- can strike anyone.

"People who are most at risk are patients that have undergone surgery, especially orthopedic surgery -- hip and joint replacements. Or any kind of abdominal surgery, pelvic surgery," explained Dr. Massimo Napolitano, chief of vascular surgery at Hackensack University Medical Center, N.J.