New treatment may revolutionize care for patients with deep vein thrombosis; $10M National Institutes of Health ATTRACT study to determine if drug-device technique can prevent post-thrombotic syndrome

Women may safely discontinue oral anticoagulants (blood thinners) after 6 months of treatment following a first unprovoked venous blood clot (thromboembolism) if they have no or one risk factor, concludes a study of 646 participants in a multicentre prospective cohort study.

Being male increases your risk of diseases caused by the inappropriate formation of a blood clot (a process known as thrombosis), such as heart attack and stroke, but the reasons for this are not completely understood.

New evidence-based guidelines address the prevention and management of thrombosis in key patient populations and reinforce recommendations related to the routine use of preventive therapies.

Fewer than 1 in 5 patients received post-discharge therapy to prevent life-threatening blood clots — venous thrombosis — after hip- or knee-replacement surgery, report Rahme and colleagues in a retrospective cohort study. Venous thrombosis is one of the leading causes of death among hospital patients. However, elderly patients have a 70% lower chance of dying within 3 months if they take an anticoagulant drug to prevent blood clots.

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) given in skin patches may cause fewer blood clots than HRT given orally, according to a report published on BMJ.com today. Furthermore, women who take the oral form of HRT more than double their risk of developing a blood clot, say the authors.

A large community-based registry of patients treated with drug-eluting stents is providing important insight into how long patients with complex coronary artery disease typically stick to their doctors’ orders to take clopidogrel, a drug that prevents unwanted blood clots; why they stop taking the drug; and the long-term consequences of that decision.

A commonly used medication that prevents blood clots from forming may also prevent existing clots from damaging delicate vein walls — and may accelerate healing in a clot-damaged area of vein wall, according to new research from the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center.

The Food and Drug Administration is highly concerned about Amgen's drug Nplate designed to treat a blood-clotting disorder.

Anemia drugs sold by Amgen Inc. and Johnson & Johnson increased the risk of blood clots and death in cancer patients, the largest study revealed.

Blood clots can save lives, staunching blood loss after injury, but they can also kill. Let loose in the bloodstream, a clot can cause a heart attack, stroke or pulmonary embolism.

Patients who develop a blood clot in their legs (deep vein thrombosis) or lungs (pulmonary embolism) are at risk for experiencing another blood clot within three years, and patients with pulmonary embolism have a higher risk of death, according to a report in the February 25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.