The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines venous thromboembolism, or VTE, as the collective term used to describe two related conditions: deep vein thrombosis, or DVT, and pulmonary embolism, or PE. DVT is the partial or total blockage of a vein by a blood clot. PE results when a blood clot breaks away and travels to the lungs and blocks one or more arteries.
Symptoms
According to MayoClinic.com, approximately half of DVT cases occur without any noted symptoms. Symptoms, if present, can include pain, swelling, redness and warmth in the affected area. Signs of a pulmonary embolism include wheezing, excessive sweating, rapid or irregular heartbeat, weak pulse, chest discomfort, shortness of breath and dizziness or fainting.
Causes
According to MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, blood clots may form when an event or condition slows or changes the flow of blood in the veins. Vessel wall damage and blood composition disturbances can also contribute to blood clot formation.
Risk Factors
Risk factors for VTE include a recent major surgery, pacemaker catheter placement, bed rest, cigarette smoking, fractures in the pelvis or legs, heart failure, medications, excessive blood cells being made by the bone marrow, cancer, multiple trauma, paralytic spinal cord injury, malignancy, congestive heart failure, hormone replacement therapy, oral contraceptive use, previous VTE, inherited or acquired hypercoagulable conditions, pregnancy, obesity and immobility.
Risks for Travelers
In a study review published in 2009 in the "Journal of Internal Medicine," scientists found that travel is associated with more than double the risk for VTE, with an 18 percent greater risk for every two-hour increase in travel time.
Treatment
The anticoagulant drugs heparin and warfarin are usually prescribed to thin the blood. These drugs do not dissolve existing clots, but help in preventing new clots from forming or old ones from getting bigger. Heparin is used short-term, while warfarin is usually taken for at least three months. Warfarin can be a lifelong prescription depending on future clot risks.
Prevention
In order to prevent VTE, patients should take medications as prescribed, get regular checkups, be active, and make lifestyle changes if they're overweight, smoking or hypertensive. Other preventive treatments include pneumatic compression and compression stockings. Pneumatic compression involves the use of thigh-high or calf-high inflatable cuffs that inflate every few minutes to massage and squeeze the veins in the legs to improve blood flow. Compression stockings steadily squeeze the legs and allow the veins and muscles to move blood more efficiently.
