The natural history of deep-vein thrombosis

Symptomatic deep vein thrombosis (DVT) carries a high risk for recurrent venous thromboembolism that persists for many years. This risk is dependent on readily identifiable risk factors, being low after a trauma or a surgical intervention, and higher in all the other patient categories. Severe post-thrombotic manifestations seem related with ipsilateral recurrence of DVT but are rare in patients with a first episode of venous thrombosis adequately treated with anticoagulant drugs and wearing compression elastic stockings. In the absence of malignancy, the prognosis with regard to survival is good.