With echoing voices against the use of pellet guns, Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) Wednesday said that pellets lodged in body have the potential to cause heart attack and stroke.
With hundreds of people peppered with pellets, President DAK Dr Nisar ul Hassan in a statement said that lodged in pellets are a constant risk for heart attack and stroke.
“Pellets can penetrate the skin and land in heart or brain,” he said adding “located anywhere, these pellets can migrate along the artery or vein to a distant site.”
Dr Nisar said that pellets can migrate immediately within few days after someone gets shot, but patients can turn up months to decades later.
Intravascular migration of pellets has been reported in several studies and various case reports, he said.
He added that pellets embedded in brain and spinal cord can be life-threatening as pellets have the potential to move.
Hundreds of people have been blinded and many have died because of pellets.
The retained pellets are toxic to humans and they can cause severe lead poisoning, Dr Nisar said.