Sepsis, a potentially deadly immune response to infection, is the third leading cause of death in the U.S., behind heart disease and cancer.
Each year, 1.7 million people in the United States develop the life-threatening condition, also known as septicemia.
The body typically responds to infection with inflammation. Sepsis occurs when the body’s inflammatory response spirals out of control, which can lead to blood clots, leaky blood vessels, and dangerously low blood pressure, which can result in tissue damage, organ failure, and death.
According to experts, 80% of sepsis deaths could be prevented if caught in time.
“The biggest delay [in treating sepsis] still is diagnosis,” said Dr. Steven Simpson, who serves as the chairman for the Sepsis Alliance. “Sepsis can be obfuscating and confusing. [The patient] comes into the ER and the presenting feature is, ‘I don’t feel so good.’”
Part of the problem is that sepsis is not easily detected.
“If we had a single test that identified sepsis it would make it much easier,” explained Dr. Mitchell Levy, a professor of medicine at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. “I think to date, in 2023, there is no single test that really identifies sepsis with 100% certainty.”
Fox News reports on what we need to know about sepsis and how to avoid this deadly condition. Here’s the start of the story:
“Real Housewives of Orange County” star Vicki Gunvalson, 62, is sharing her recent health scare after she was hospitalized with sepsis, a potentially deadly disease that results from the body’s response to an infection.
“This entire health scare came unannounced — with no warning,” Gunvalson told Fox News Digital.
As Sepsis Awareness Month kicks off this September, Gunvalson’s timely story is helping to raise awareness of the illness.
“Sepsis awareness can and does save lives, yet only 65% of American adults have ever heard of it,” Selena A. Gilles, clinical professor and associate dean at New York University Rory Meyers College of Nursing, told Fox News Digital.
Gilles is on the advisory board of the Sepsis Alliance, a California-based organization that works across the country to decrease suffering from sepsis.
“Prompt recognition and treatment can be of great importance in preventing significant illness and even mortality,” Dr. Aaron Glatt, chief of infectious diseases at Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital on Long Island, New York, told Fox News Digital.