Blood clots have halted Jalen Hurts's NFL season. They've also been a problem for other sports stars

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.

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,"