Blood clots have halted Jalen Hurts's NFL season. They've also been a problem for other sports stars
Football player Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles is expected to miss the rest of the season due to blood clots in his lungs. The announcement brings new attention to the condition and raises questions about why so many high-profile athletes have been diagnosed with blood clots in recent years.
Questions remain about why so many athletes have been diagnosed with blood clots in recent years
The Associated Press
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Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles is the latest professional athlete to endure blood clots, joining NBA players Victor Wembanyama, Chris Bosh, Damian Lillard and others.
The one-time Super Bowl MVP is expected to miss the rest of the season because of blood clots in his lungs, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Monday. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the health matter.
Hurts was placed on injured reserve Saturday, two days after the team revealed he has a blood clot in his calf. The Eagles and Hurts' agent, Nicole Lynn, released more information on his condition Monday. They said Hurts has deep vein thrombosis and bilateral pulmonary emboli, meaning a blood clot has travelled to the lungs.
The diagnosis brought new attention to the condition, its risks and treatments, while raising questions about why so many athletes have been diagnosed with blood clots in recent years.
What is deep vein thrombosis?
Deep vein thrombosis, or DVT, is the term for a blood clot that forms in a deep vein, usually in the lower legs. Sometimes, these clots can break off and travel into the lungs, lodging in a blood vessel to block blood flow. That's called a pulmonary embolism and it can be life-threatening.
Any number of things can cause deep vein thrombosis, ranging from immobility and trauma to family history and dehydration.
Symptoms include inexplicable swelling and discoloration or pain, or some combination of those factors, and experts say the worry is the clot travelling through the bloodstream, causing a pulmonary embolism or death.
"When you have a DVT in the leg or the arm, there's a chance that it will break free, and when it breaks free, it can end up lodged in the lung," Mary Cushman, a hematologist and professor of medicine at the University of Vermont, told the AP previously. "And if it's large enough, that can kill a person."
What is the treatment?
Taking blood thinners is the most common course of action when it comes to treatment.
Sometimes surgery is involved, or blood thinners are used for the long term.
The treatment Hurts is using involves blood thinners, and he will not be allowed to participate in any football activities until he is off them.
Are athletes more likely to have it?
Richard Ricciardi, a professor at the George Washington University School of Nursing, says there is no evidence to suggest elite athletes are more predisposed to blood clots than people of comparable ages in the general population.
NHL goalie Frederik Andersen minds the net for the Carolina Hurricanes during the playoffs last season. A few years ago, he had medical tests that found blood clots. (Matt Slocum/The Associated Press)
"I do not believe there are any large-scale studies that compare elite athletes with non-athletes," Ricciardi said.
"Athletes are generally considered low risk for blood clots, but they face a cluster of sport-specific risk factors, so they may have a higher risk than expected for young, fit people.
"High-contact sports theoretically could raise blood clot risk, primarily through collision and trauma-induced blood vessel wall injury," he said. "But to my knowledge no studies directly quantify how much contact sports increase risk versus noncontact sports."
The risk of people in their 20s and 30s developing deep vein thrombosis or a pulmonary embolism is one in 10,000.
Can air travel increase risks?
"Frequent long-haul air travel plausibly increases blood clot risk in elite athletes, but to my knowledge no athlete-specific studies have been conducted," Ricciardi said.
"Risk is greatest in flights of eight hours or more. However, the risk per flight remains low in healthy, fit individuals, and risk is concentrated in those with additional health risk factors."
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s website says blood clots can form in deep veins of the legs during travel because people are sitting still in a confined space for long periods of time.
It says "most people who develop travel-associated blood clots" have additional risks for blood clots, including prior blood clots, an inherited blood clotting disorder or a family history of blood clots.
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama plays in a pre-season game against the Phoenix Suns earlier this month. (Ross D. Franklin/The Associated Press)
Other athletes with blood clots
Victor Wembanyama: His 2024-25 season ended after he was diagnosed with a blood clot in his right shoulder. The seven-foot-four phenom from France bounced back last season, when he finished third in NBA MVP voting and won the league's Defensive Player of the Year award as he led the San Antonio Spurs to the NBA Finals.
Damian Lillard: The nine-time NBA All-Star scored 16 points with the Milwaukee Bucks on March 18, 2025, and about a week later, the team said he had deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. Lillard returned for the playoffs and tore his Achilles tendon, an injury that kept him out of the lineup last season in his return to Portland.
Blood clots ended the basketball career of Chris Bosh, who played for the Toronto Raptors and the Miami Heat during his Hall of Fame career. (Steve Marcus/Getty Images)
Chris Bosh: A decade earlier, blood clots ended the career of the Basketball Hall of Famer. He was averaging 19.1 points and 7.4 rebounds in 33.5 minutes during the 2015-16 season and had just arrived in Toronto for that year's All-Star Game when a clot in one of his legs was discovered at the age of 31.
Ausar Thompson: The NBA All-Defensive team player missed the last month of his rookie season two years ago with a blood clot. He was not cleared to play during the first month of his second season while he worked through a medical process with the NBA and the players' union.
American golfer Nelly Korda plays a tee shot during a practice round for the Solheim Cup last month. (Alastair Grant/The Associated Press)
Nelly Korda: The current No. 1 player in women's golf missed four months in 2022 — the year after she won her first major title — because of a blood clot in her left arm that required surgery.
Frederik Andersen: Nearly three years ago, the Carolina Hurricanes goaltender had medical tests that found blood clots. He played for the Hurricanes last season when they won the Stanley Cup and is currently recovering from a knee injury with the Edmonton Oilers.
Merrill Kelly: The right-handed pitcher, has bounced back from his bouts of blood clots to play for the Arizona Diamondbacks, going 10-14 in 29 starts last season.
Christian Barmore: The New England Patriots defensive tackle was limited to four games during the 2024 season after he had blood clots. He started 15 games last season and has played in five this year with the Patriots. "I could have lost my life," Barmore said.
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