Management of venous thrombosis and thromboembolism: prevention and treatment

Thrombosis is a common cause of death in the United States. More than two million people die each year from an arterial or venous thrombosis, or the consequences thereof. Approximately an equal number suffer non-fatal thrombosis; for example, deep venous thrombosis (DVT), non-fatal pulmonary embolus (PE), non-fatal cerebrovascular thrombosis (CVT), transient cerebral ischemic attacks (40% of these have a fatal or non-fatal CVT within one year), non-fatal coronary artery thrombosis, retinal vascular thrombosis (RVT), and other non-fatal thrombotic deaths. These numbers emphasize the scope of the problem. By contrast, approximately 550,000 people will die this year in the United States from cancer; thus, fatal thrombosis is approximately four times as prevalent as fatality from malignancy. Thrombosis, therefore, accounts for extraordinary morbidity, mortality, and cost of medical care.