Jet lag may have caused Dada Olusola’s death, says physician

The sudden death of Mr. Dada Olusola, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMA), Lagos, on Wednesday, a medical expert said could be due to a complication of the Deep Vein Thromboses (DVT)- blood cloth in the deep veins, caused by long flight across different zones.

Olusola, newly elected district governor of the Lions Club, Nigeria, in company of his wife and Lions Club members, slumped and later died at MMA, after arriving the country aboard an Emirates Airlines flight from the United States. The plane, which took off from Chicago had stopped over in Dubai before connecting Lagos.

A physician and a close friend of the family told The Guardian that Dada’s sudden death is possibly due to pulmonary embolus, a complications of DVT, whereby a blood cloth in the deep vein dislodges, travels through the heart and gets stuck in the lungs.

The physician, at Lagos University Teaching Hospital, who pleaded anonymity, said Dada had sat for about 12 hours for his US-Lagos trip enroute Dubai.

The Guardian gathered Olusola was to be inducted as the District Governor of the Lion’s Club, Nigeria, July 30, 2017. Sources close to him said he had planned to use the occasion to raise fund to build a new Dialysis Centre for the Lagos University Teaching Hospital.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), DVT occurs when a blood clot forms in the deep veins, usually of the pelvis or leg.

“DVT can be dangerous in two ways. First, DVT can be fatal if a blood clot breaks free from the leg veins and travels through the heart and lodges in the lung arteries. This complication, called pulmonary embolism (PE), causes between 100,000 and 180,000 deaths per year in the United States. Second, because blood clots can permanently damage the veins, as many as half of DVT survivors can experience long-term leg pain, heaviness and swelling that can progress to difficulty in walking, changes in skin color and open leg sores (known as ulcers). This condition, called post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS) or “chronic venous insufficiency,” can significantly impair quality of life”, it said.

According to reports, certain individuals may be at greater risk for developing DVT, but it can occur in almost anyone.

Risk factors includes; prolonged sitting when traveling (longer than 6 to 8 hours), Recent major surgery (especially orthopedic surgery) or injury or trauma, Personal history of a clotting disorder or previous DVT, Increasing age, Cancer and their treatments, Family history of DVT, Extended bed rest, Obesity, Smoking.