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(Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. 2009;29:296.)
© 2009 American Heart Association, Inc.

Venous Thromboembolism: Mechanisms, Treatment, and Public Awareness

Venous Thromboembolism

Risk Factors, Biomarkers, and Treatment

Alisa S. Wolberg; Nigel Mackman

From the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (A.W.), and the Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine (N.M.), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Correspondence to Nigel Mackman, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7035. E-mail nmackman@med.unc.edu

Articles in this series:



•Zhu T, Martinez I, Emmerich J. Venous thromboembolism: risk factors for recurrence. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2009;29:298–310.
•Jang MJ, Choi W, Bang SM, Lee T, Yeo-Kyeoung K, Ageno W, Doyeun Oh. Metabolic syndrome is associated with venous thromboembolism in the Korean population. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2009;29:311–315.
•Sousou T, Khorana AA. New insights into cancer-associated thrombosis. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2009;29:316–320.
•Farmer-Boatwright MK, Roubey RAS. Venous thrombosis in the antiphospholipid syndrome. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2009;29:321–325.
•James AH. Venous thromboembolism in pregnancy. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2009;29:326–331.
•Pabinger I, Ay C. Biomarkers and venous thromboembolism. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2009;29:332–336.

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

In 2005, the U.S. Senate declared March as deep vein thrombosis (DVT) awareness month. This is the second year in which we have highlighted this event with a collection of 6 articles in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology focused on DVT. It is estimated that 2 million Americans per year develop DVT, which is associated with life-threatening pulmonary embolism (PE). DVT and PE are collectively termed venous thromboembolism (VTE). Despite the large number of cases, a survey conducted by the American Public Health Association in 2002 found that 74% of Americans were unaware of venous thrombosis.¹

The risk of VTE increases with thrombophilias, age, pregnancy, and comorbidities, including cancer and antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). It has not yet been determined whether similar mechanisms lead to VTE in each of these disorders. The articles in this issue describe current research into disorders associated with increased VTE risk, including potential pathophysiologic mechanisms, treatment of these clinical situations, and a review on biomarkers for the detection and prevention of VTE.

The first article by Zhu et al,² entitled "Venous Thromboembolism: Risk Factors for Recurrence," summarizes our current knowledge of the risk factors for recurrent VTE. This is an important issue because they influence the intensity and duration of anticoagulation therapy in different patients. The authors point out that VTE should be considered a chronic rather than acute illness because resolution of venous clots may take several weeks to months. These patients may also develop postthrombotic syndrome. They conclude that more studies are required to . . . [Full Text of this Article]