Young Jacksonville woman battling COVID-19 develops life-threatening blood clots

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Across the country, some patients who have contracted COVID-19 have also developed blood clots, which can sometimes cause serious complications.

That includes a 22-year-old Jacksonville woman, whose mother spoke to News4Jax on condition of anonymity. She said that her daughter has been fighting COVID-19 for almost four weeks and that she had no pre-existing health problems.

The mother said that days after her daughter tested positive, she was admitted to an intensive care unit. After she was sent home, she ended up in an emergency room due to blood clots.

“We discovered that they formed in his lungs,” said the mother.

A scan revealed almost 10 clots in her daughter’s lungs. Medical professionals say it only takes one clot to travel to a person’s heart and become fatal.

Dr. Pauline Rolle of the Duval County Health Department says that blood clots in certain patients with COVID-19 is something that doctors are noticing in the United States.

“COVID-19 causes an overwhelming inflammatory response in the body, and with that, blood clots are one of those phenomena that occur as a result,” Rolle said.

Rolle says it is difficult to predict which COVID-19 patients will develop clots because although they are seeing it in severe cases, they are also seeing clot formations in mild cases.

As for the 22-year-old Jacksonville woman, she is taking blood thinners to treat clots.

“In theory, everything should be fine,” said his mother. “We are observing it very carefully. She is receiving follow-up blood tests regularly and is being very careful. “

The Health Department says that patients who tested positive for coronavirus and who had a problem with blood clots prior to infection should contact their doctor to be tested for new clots.