When high-profile individuals suffer from some kind of malady, we often hear way more than we want to hear about the illness. In the case of Dick Cheney's latest health problem, a blood clot in his leg, learning about his experience could save your life.

Cheney was diagnosed with a blood clot in his leg after returning from a trip to Asia. The condition, called deep vein thrombosis (DVT), occurs when a person is sitting or laying down for an extended period of time. As the name suggests, the condition tends to occur in veins deep inside the leg muscles.

People may tend to chalk up Cheney's problem to the fact that he's a male in his 60s, has a long history of cardiac problems (including four attacks), and just returned from a trip that covered more than 25,000 miles of air travel.

But DVT is a surprisingly common--and potentially dangerous --problem that can happen to anyone of any age. And it can occur not only during air travel but on long car trips, during long periods of sitting, or in persons who are bedridden due to injury or illness.

The U.S. National Library of Medicine's MedLine notes that risks for DVT also include recent surgery or trauma, fractures, childbirth within the last six months, and the use of medications such as estrogen and birth control pills.

It's estimated that two million Americans each year are stricken by DVT, with 60,000 deaths. In 2003 an NBC news correspondent died of a pulmonary embolism after covering the invasion of Iraq, which required him to spend days in a cramped military vehicle.

Health authorities have been seeking to raise awareness of the problem in recent years, as have airlines. When I last flew in December, the seat backs of the planes contained a card warning of DVT and describing simple exercises to help prevent it.

How does DVT happen? When the blood cannot circulate as freely as it usually does, it pools in one place and can start to clot. If this clot breaks loose it can travel to the heart or lungs, brain, or other organs, causing severe damage or death.

Symptoms can include pain, swelling, or tenderness in one leg only; increased warmth in one leg; and changes in skin color in one leg.

What can you do to help prevent DVT when flying or sitting for long periods of time? In addition to the exercises that you can do while seated on a plane, it's recommended that you wear loose-fitting clothing when traveling--tight clothes can restrict blood flow.

DVT is treated by taking anticoagulant medications such as warfarin and heparin. Cheney is said to be taking some type of medications such as these, though his doctors have not said what kind.

This may be a case in which the increased awareness of a well-known public figure's disorder could actually save lives.