Overview of venous thromboembolism

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) describes the diagnoses of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE). DVT is the formation of thrombi in the deep veins, most commonly the large veins of the legs or pelvis. PE develops when thrombi dislodge from clots in vein walls and travel through the heart to pulmonary arteries. In many patients, the presenting manifestation of PE is sudden death. VTE may be categorized as provoked or unprovoked. This categorization influences the risk of recurrent VTE and duration of anticoagulation therapy. It is important for primary care providers to clearly understand the pathogenesis and causes of thrombosis in order to create evidence-based therapeutic and prophylactic patient care plans that adequately prevent recurrent VTE.