DVT: What You
Need to Know
LAS VEGAS (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- It's being called a public
health crisis. It kills more people than HIV
and breast cancer combined, but most of us don't even know what it is. About 2 million Americans have
DVT, and it can kill in an instant. Are you at risk?
NBC reporter David Bloom died while he was reporting in Iraq.
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is what took
his
life.
"Even in the midst of bullets and bombs, it ended up a
blood clot that hit his lungs and took his life instantly,"
Melanie
Bloom, David's wife and a national patient spokesperson for the Coalition to
Prevent DVT, told
Ivanhoe. "He was only 39 years
old."
His wife is dedicated to get the word out before another
family is torn apart by DVT.
DVT is a disease that starts with a
blood clot that forms inside a deep vein -- most often in the lower
leg.
"These clots can become dislodged and make their way to the
lungs and cause problems there," Mike
Metzler, M.D., a trauma &
critical care specialist at Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center in Las Vegas,
told
Ivanhoe.
The clots can block arteries in the
lungs and cause death. Risk factors include obesity, recent surgery,
restricted
mobility, respiratory failure and old age.
After David died, his
wife learned he had an inherited blood disorder. That along with the cramped
quarters
inside this tank and dehydration -- all combined to be
fatal.
"He called me from the desert one night," Melanie
recalled. "He said, 'Well I'm outside sleeping tonight on
the tank
instead of inside the tank', and I said, 'Get back inside the tank where you'll
be safe,' and he said,
'No, my legs have been cramping up. I just
have to stretch them out.'"
Two days later, David died. But
through his wife, he's still getting the word out.
To prevent
DVT, patients can keep active, wear deep compression stockings, and in extreme
cases, take
blood thinners.
For additional research on this
article, click here.
Sign up for a free weekly e-mail on Medical
Breakthroughs called First to Know by clicking here.
If this story or
any other Ivanhoe story has impacted your life or prompted you or someone you
know to
seek or change treatments, please let us know by contacting
Melissa Medalie at mmedalie@ivanhoe.com.
FOR MORE
INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Ashlee Seymour, Marketing
Director
Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center
Las Vegas,
NV
(702) 731-8288
http://www.preventdvt.org
http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=21680
-------
Image-Guided
Treatment for Deep Venous Thrombosis
(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Researchers have
found that image-guided interventional radiology procedures may
have a central role to play in the long-term treatment of Deep Venous
Thrombosis (DVT), a serious
condition that involves the formation
of a blood clot inside of a deep vein, usually in the legs. A patient with
DVT is typically treated with anticoagulants (blood
thinners).
"DVT is estimated to occur in nearly one million persons per
year in the United States alone," Suresh
Vedantham, MD, the national
principal investigator and lead author, was quoted as saying. "The
anticoagulant treatment method is good at preventing pulmonary emboli,
however it does not completely
destroy a blood clot or prevent a
patient from developing long-term complications — including chronic,
daily leg pain, swelling, changes in skin color, and open sores," said
Dr. Vedantham.
"Image-guided pharmacomechanical catheter-directed
thrombolysis, which until recently has been typically
used to treat
only the most critical DVT cases, involves the delivery of a clot busting drug
through a catheter-
mounted device that also "chews" up a clot —
eliminating it completely and possibly improving a patient's
long-term outcome and preventing future occurrences,” said Vedantham.
“If this technique is proven to
prevent long-term DVT complications
and improve patient outcomes, it only makes sense to use it on many
more patients with DVT."
"Most patients with DVT do not know
that there are image-guided treatment options available,” said Dr.
Vedanthum. “That is why it is important for referring physicians and
radiologists to talk more because
patients can really benefit from
these procedures."
"At this time we do not have any definitive proof
that image-guided procedures will improve patient outcome
in the
long-term,” explained Vedanthum. “However, the NIH is now funding a pivotal,
national clinical trial
(the ATTRACT Trial) to see if routine clot
removal is the best way to treat DVT. If the trial is positive, it will
revolutionize the treatment of DVT."
SOURCE: American Journal
of Roentgenology (AJR), October
2009
Need to Know
LAS VEGAS (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- It's being called a public
health crisis. It kills more people than HIV
and breast cancer combined, but most of us don't even know what it is. About 2 million Americans have
DVT, and it can kill in an instant. Are you at risk?
NBC reporter David Bloom died while he was reporting in Iraq.
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is what took
his
life.
"Even in the midst of bullets and bombs, it ended up a
blood clot that hit his lungs and took his life instantly,"
Melanie
Bloom, David's wife and a national patient spokesperson for the Coalition to
Prevent DVT, told
Ivanhoe. "He was only 39 years
old."
His wife is dedicated to get the word out before another
family is torn apart by DVT.
DVT is a disease that starts with a
blood clot that forms inside a deep vein -- most often in the lower
leg.
"These clots can become dislodged and make their way to the
lungs and cause problems there," Mike
Metzler, M.D., a trauma &
critical care specialist at Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center in Las Vegas,
told
Ivanhoe.
The clots can block arteries in the
lungs and cause death. Risk factors include obesity, recent surgery,
restricted
mobility, respiratory failure and old age.
After David died, his
wife learned he had an inherited blood disorder. That along with the cramped
quarters
inside this tank and dehydration -- all combined to be
fatal.
"He called me from the desert one night," Melanie
recalled. "He said, 'Well I'm outside sleeping tonight on
the tank
instead of inside the tank', and I said, 'Get back inside the tank where you'll
be safe,' and he said,
'No, my legs have been cramping up. I just
have to stretch them out.'"
Two days later, David died. But
through his wife, he's still getting the word out.
To prevent
DVT, patients can keep active, wear deep compression stockings, and in extreme
cases, take
blood thinners.
For additional research on this
article, click here.
Sign up for a free weekly e-mail on Medical
Breakthroughs called First to Know by clicking here.
If this story or
any other Ivanhoe story has impacted your life or prompted you or someone you
know to
seek or change treatments, please let us know by contacting
Melissa Medalie at mmedalie@ivanhoe.com.
FOR MORE
INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Ashlee Seymour, Marketing
Director
Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center
Las Vegas,
NV
(702) 731-8288
http://www.preventdvt.org
http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=21680
-------
Image-Guided
Treatment for Deep Venous Thrombosis
(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Researchers have
found that image-guided interventional radiology procedures may
have a central role to play in the long-term treatment of Deep Venous
Thrombosis (DVT), a serious
condition that involves the formation
of a blood clot inside of a deep vein, usually in the legs. A patient with
DVT is typically treated with anticoagulants (blood
thinners).
"DVT is estimated to occur in nearly one million persons per
year in the United States alone," Suresh
Vedantham, MD, the national
principal investigator and lead author, was quoted as saying. "The
anticoagulant treatment method is good at preventing pulmonary emboli,
however it does not completely
destroy a blood clot or prevent a
patient from developing long-term complications — including chronic,
daily leg pain, swelling, changes in skin color, and open sores," said
Dr. Vedantham.
"Image-guided pharmacomechanical catheter-directed
thrombolysis, which until recently has been typically
used to treat
only the most critical DVT cases, involves the delivery of a clot busting drug
through a catheter-
mounted device that also "chews" up a clot —
eliminating it completely and possibly improving a patient's
long-term outcome and preventing future occurrences,” said Vedantham.
“If this technique is proven to
prevent long-term DVT complications
and improve patient outcomes, it only makes sense to use it on many
more patients with DVT."
"Most patients with DVT do not know
that there are image-guided treatment options available,” said Dr.
Vedanthum. “That is why it is important for referring physicians and
radiologists to talk more because
patients can really benefit from
these procedures."
"At this time we do not have any definitive proof
that image-guided procedures will improve patient outcome
in the
long-term,” explained Vedanthum. “However, the NIH is now funding a pivotal,
national clinical trial
(the ATTRACT Trial) to see if routine clot
removal is the best way to treat DVT. If the trial is positive, it will
revolutionize the treatment of DVT."
SOURCE: American Journal
of Roentgenology (AJR), October
2009
