Hillary Clinton Brain Clot Not Expected to Cause Further Health Problems

Secretary of State Responding Well to Treatment

(Photo: REUTERS)
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivers remarks at the State Department in Washington on the deaths of U.S. embassy staff in Benghazi in this September 12, 2012 file photo.

By Sami K. Martin , Christian Post Contributor

January 1, 2013|7:52 am

Hillary Clinton's blood clot, located in her brain, is being treated by top physicians at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Doctors have stated that she did not suffer a stroke or any neurological damage due to the clot and expect Clinton to make a full recovery.

Clinton was admitted to the hospital on Sunday, after the blood clot showed up during a follow-up exam, her spokesman Phillipe Reines told the media. She had previously fainted due to dehydration and hit her head, causing a serious concussion that doctors watched closely.

Doctors "will continue to assess her condition, including other issues associated with her concussion," Reines added. "They will determine if any further action is required."

The blood clot "certainly isn't the most common thing to happen after a concussion," Dr. Larry Goldstein told the Associated Press. He is not involved in Clinton's treatment but is a neurologist at Duke University's stroke center. Her clot is located near "a drainage channel, the equivalent of a big vein inside the skull. It's how the blood gets back to the heart," he explained.

Doctors at New York-Presbyterian have been administering blood thinners in order to dissolve the clot. They will release her once doctors are satisfied with her progress and the "medication dose for the blood thinners has been established," according to the AP.

In 1998, Clinton was diagnosed with a blood clot in her right knee after her foot suddenly became swollen. Clinton called it "the most significant health scare I've ever had," in an interview with the New York Daily News. The blood clot caused her "terrible pain," and she was rushed to Bethesda Naval Hospital for treatment.

Right now, though, Clinton is reportedly "making excellent progress and is in good spirits," according to a press release by her doctors. There's no word yet on when the Secretary of State will be released, but she will certainly be limited in her travels, at least while she continues to heal.