A venous blood clot is, potentially, one of the most serious conditions you can have. It occurs in about 2 million Americans each year, and up to 250,000 people are hospitalized for the condition. Venous blood clots, which are most common in patients over forty years old, form deep in the large veins, most often the legs. They can then travel to the lungs, where they put a strain on the heart and can lead to a heart attack.
The standard therapy for this potentially dangerous condition has been blood-thinning medication. But now the American Heart Association (AHA) is recommending that physicians consider additional therapies.
The AHA statement, published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, offers new advice for cardiologists and other physicians who treat varieties of venous blood clot. Among the conditions covered are massive and submassive pulmonary embolism (dangerous blockage in veins in the lungs), iliofemoral deep vein thrombosis (blockage in the main vein of the pelvis and leg), and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (serious high blood pressure in the lungs caused by blood clots).
Previously, the AHA said in a statement, there has been limited guidance for physicians on some of the more serious conditions.
