A Clearinghouse for Information about Blood Clots (DVT/)PE) and Clotting Disorders (thrombophilia) provided as a public service by the University of North Carolina Blood Research Center

Author: Clot Connect

  • Unexplained Arterial Thrombosis – Causes, Thrombophilia Testing

    Causes The 2 main causes of arterial thromboembolism are certainly arteriosclerosis and atrial fibriallation. Only uncommonly do arterial clots occur in persons less than 40 or 50 years of age who do not have arteriosclerosis or atrial fibrillation.  Under these circumstances, a number of uncommon conditions, including  thrombophilias, should be considered and investigated (see table 1: Causes and work-up).

  • INRs that Fluctuate – Solutions

    Background and summary The cause  of fluctuating INRs in patients on warfarin is often not clear.  The following causes should be considered. Solutions how to deal with fluctuating INRs are listed further below.

  • Arm and Leg Veins – Anatomy + Terminology

    Confusion as to which veins of arms and legs are superficial and which are deep can lead to misclassification superficial thrombophlebitis and DVT and, thus, to incorrect treatment decisions. A. Arm Veins Graph of  Arm vein terminology Basilic and cephalic veins are superficial veins; Brachial veins

  • Xarelto® – Good News

    Summary Good news. A major study published in December 2010 in the  New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) shows that the new oral “blood thinner” Xarelto® (=Rivaroxaban) is (a) as safe and effective as warfarin in patients with acute DVT, and (b) is quite effective in preventing recurrent venous thromboembolism if taken longer-term, with an…

  • May-Thurner Syndrome

    Summary A congenital stenosis of the left main pelvic vein (= left common iliac vein) by pressure from the overlying right common iliac artery (image 1) is referred to as May Thurner syndrome. While this anatomic variant is a risk factor for DVT, in many people is causes no symptoms and is irrelevant.

  • Pradaxa – Management of Major Bleeding

    Major and life-threatening bleeding is expected to occur in some patients treated with Pradaxa® (=Dabigatran). The question will then urgently arise how to best treat such catastrophic bleeding.

  • Heavy Menstrual Bleeds on Anticoagulants – Treatment Options

    Evaluation Anticoagulants often increase the amount of bleeding during menses and sometimes the number of days that a woman bleeds. However, this does not happen in every woman.  In general, the more vaginal bleeding a woman has, the more cramping she experiences. Since warfarin may increase the vaginal bleeding

  • Pradaxa Approval – Great News!

    The new oral anticoagulant Pradaxa® (Dabigatran) was approved by the FDA on October 20th, 2010 [ref 1,2]. As of Feb 3rd, 2012, Pradaxa® is only FDA approved for use in patients with atrial fibrillation. It is not approved yet for patients with DVT and PE.