Hillary Clinton Hospitalized After Blood Clot Is Found
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was hospitalized in New York Sunday after doctors discovered a blood clot that formed when she suffered a concussion earlier this month.
As CBS 2's Dave Carlin reported, Clinton, 65, was being treated with anti-coagulants, or blood thinners, for the blood clot at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. She was admitted to the hospital so doctors could monitor the medication, and she could be in the hospital for the next 48 hours.
"(Clinton's) doctors will continue to assess her condition, including other issues associated with her concussion," spokesman Philippe Reines said in a statement. "They will determine if any further action is required."
Clinton's staff would not confirm whether she was at the Washington Heights or East Side campus of New York Presbyterian.
Her office also will not specify where the blood clot formed.
CBS 2's Dr. Max Gomez says the clot's location is key to how serious this is, and how doctors go about treating Clinton.
"There are two main possibilities here," Gomez said. "One is that she developed a blood clot, or blood clots, in her legs as a result of bed rest during her concussion. Those would commonly be treated with anti-coagulants. A second possibility is that she developed something called a subdural hematoma, which means that as a result of the blow on her head, she broke a small blood vessel on the surface of her brain, and it has been slowly leaking blood, which accumulates and formulates a blood clot on the surface of the brain."
Clinton, who is expected to leave her job soon after serving as America's top diplomat during President Barack Obama's first term, suffered the concussion after fainting two weeks ago.
She had become dehydrated because of a stomach virus, and she fainted as a result.
In a 2007 interview with the New York Daily News, Clinton said she also suffered an internal blood clot in 1998. At the time, she was campaigning on behalf of U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) when she found herself in severe pain with her foot swollen, the newspaper reported.
Upon rushing to Bethesda Hospital, doctors found a large blood clot behind her right knee, the newspaper said, adding that she was no longer taking blood thinners by 2007.
Clinton has been known for her grueling travel schedule and is the most traveled secretary of state, having visited 112 countries, and logging more than 400 travel days and nearly 1 million miles while in the job. But has been at home since she suffered the concussion.
This recent bout of illness forced Clinton to cancel a trip overseas, and delay testimony before Congress about the attack on the U-S consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
Clinton served as a U.S. Senator from New York before being nominated as Secretary of State by President Barack Obama.
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