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

Category: Venous clots

  • Chronic Lung Damage after PE – Pulmonary Hypertension (CTEPH)

    Blood clots in the lung (pulmonary embolism, PE) often completely dissolve within a few weeks or months and a patient’s symptoms of shortness and breath and chest pain disappear.  Many people return to their normal self and have no physical limitations thereafter. Other people have some residual symptoms of shortness of breath or chest discomfort,…

  • Incidentally Discovered DVT, PE or Other Clots

    General comments CT or MRI scans will occasionally detect an incidental iliofemoral DVT, PE or intra-abdominal thrombosis (IVC, portal, splenic, mesenteric or renal vein). This is particularly common in cancer patients undergoing staging CT scans. When such an incidental, asymptomatic venous thromboembolism (VTE) is discovered, the question arises whether the patient should be treated with…

  • Incidentally Discovered Blood Clots

    General comments CT scans and MRI scans are often done in medicine, for a variety of reasons.  Every so often such a scan will detect a blood clot in a patient who has no symptoms from the clot. This is referred to as an “incidental VTE”  (VTE = venous thromboembolism, i.e. clot in a vein)…

  • DVT and PE: How Long to Treat With Anticoagulants?

    Explanation for Patients The complex topic of “Length of Anticoagulant Treatment” for patients with VTE  is being addressed in a blog entry written for patients, found on the Clot Connect patient education blog (here). For the Health Care Professional Well respected treatment guidelines exist [ref 1,2].

  • DVT and PE: How Long to Treat with “Blood Thinners”

    What Kind of Clot did You Have? If you have had a blood clot in your legs or your lung (pulmonary embolism=PE), you will wonder how long you should stay on a “blood thinner”. The decision depends on a number of factors which will be discussed below.

  • Testosterone and Thrombosis

    Testosterone Replacement Therapy Replacement therapy with low doses of testosterone does not adversely affect blood coagulation status [ref 1] and does not appear to increase the risk of venous or arterial thrombosis. Thrombosis is not listed as a potential side effect in the commly used drug compendium (Micromedex). Furthermore, the 2006 “Clinical Practice Guideline” from the…

  • Testosterone and Blood Clots

    Testosterone Replacement Therapy Replacement therapy with low doses of testosterone does not adversely affect blood coagulation status [ref 1] and does not appear to increase the risk of venous or arterial blood clots. Thrombosis is not listed as a potential side effect in a commly used drug compendium (Micromedex). Furthermore, the 2006 “Clinical Practice Guideline”…

  • HHT

    What is HHT? HHT (Hereditary Hemorrhagic Teleangiectasia), called Osler-Weber-Rendu syndrome,  is an inherited disorder in which small blood vessels develop abnormally [ref 1].  It is estimated that 30,000 to 60,000 people (1 out 5,000 to 10,000) in the United States are affected. Individuals with HHT develop telengiectasias in the skin (usually in the fingers and hands) and…