Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, 28, may miss the rest of the season after doctors diagnosed him with deep vein thrombosis and blood clots in his lungs, the team said Monday. The Eagles said he has a good prognosis and is expected to recover fully.

Deep vein thrombosis occurs when a blood clot develops in a deep vein, usually in the lower leg, thigh or pelvis. Pulmonary critical care expert Dr. Parth Rali compares deep veins to highways carrying blood from the legs toward the heart and lungs.

A clot develops when red blood cells, platelets and fibrin, a sticky protein, collect into a mass. Dr. Syed T. Zaidi, a vascular surgeon at Orlando Health, said clots can safely dissolve after helping stop bleeding or heal an injury, but they become dangerous when they obstruct blood flow.

Hurts’ condition might be connected to a calf injury during an October 4 game against the Los Angeles Rams, when another player stepped on him with a cleat. “The injury can create this inflammatory process around it, and it puts you at risk for developing a blood clot,” Zaidi said.

Inactivity, including prolonged sitting during a flight or immobility after surgery, can also contribute to clots. Other risk factors include genetic predisposition, smoking, cancer, diabetes, Covid-19, atrial fibrillation, excess weight, pregnancy and certain medications, including birth control and hormone replacement therapy.

A leg clot can cause swelling, cramping and pain, while nearby skin may feel warm or appear purple or red. Rali said persistent calf pain that does not improve after about five days of stretching and hydration, particularly with swelling in one leg, deserves medical attention.

“If something just does not sound or feel normal, I say don’t wait. Get an ultrasound, and we can make a diagnosis,” Rali said. Some people with clots, however, may have no symptoms at all.

Hurts reported his leg injury to trainers before flying from Philadelphia to London. An ultrasound in the UK revealed superficial vein thrombosis in his left calf, and doctors “concluded that activity and movement were important,” according to the Eagles.

Hurts played against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London and returned to Philadelphia. After two days of treatment and a practice session, another ultrasound detected “small movement” in the clot, prompting the Eagles to rule him out against the Carolina Panthers.

The team announced Monday that the clot had moved into Hurts’ lungs. Some patients with a superficial clot may also have an undetected clot in a deep muscle vein, while another possibility is movement from a superficial vein into a deep vein.

Long flights like Hurts’ trips between Philadelphia and London could exacerbate a clot. Sitting for long periods and becoming dehydrated may cause blood to thicken, Zaidi said, increasing concern that a clot could travel to the lungs and interfere with blood flow.

A pulmonary embolism occurs when a clot breaks away and travels through the bloodstream into the lungs. Bilateral pulmonary emboli, the condition diagnosed in Hurts, means clots are blocking arteries in both lungs and can lead to breathing failure or heart failure.

Warning signs include sudden shortness of breath, chest pain that worsens with deep breathing or coughing, faintness, confusion and coughing with blood streaked mucus. A pulmonary embolism can also cause low blood oxygen, low blood pressure, an irregular or rapid heart rate, right side heart failure or sudden cardiac arrest.

Patients with lung clots often receive blood thinners such as heparin or warfarin, typically for three to six months, to help the body dissolve them. Because those medications increase bleeding risk, doctors advise patients to avoid activities likely to cause injury, including football and skydiving.

The Eagles said Hurts can return to football after he stops taking blood thinners. Depending on a clot’s severity, doctors may also use catheters to dissolve or extract clots from lung blood vessels, while surgery may be necessary to open the heart and remove a clot.

Nearly 900,000 people in the US are diagnosed with a clot in the leg or lung each year, Rali said. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that venous thromboembolism, including deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, kills about 60,000 to 100,000 people nationally each year.

Regular activity can help prevent deep vein thrombosis, including standing, stretching and taking walking breaks during long periods of sitting. On flights, doctors recommend walking hourly when possible, performing seated calf pumps, staying hydrated and using compression socks to prevent blood from pooling in the lower limbs.

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