Essay On Thrombosis

Thrombosis is the development of a blood clot within a blood vessel. The blood clots will usually be located in the lower extremities of the body, such as the legs. There are two types of this disease: venous thrombosis and arterial thrombosis. The two types of venous thrombosis, include deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). Deep vein thrombosis is characterized as blood clots in the large veins in the body. This may arise from prolonged bed rest, long periods of immobility, pregnancy, hormone usage, surgery and cancer (Cushman, 2007). Pulmonary embolism is a severe complication that can follow from patients who suffer from deep vein thrombosis. This form of venous thrombosis is when a fragment of the blood clot detaches and moves into the blood stream. Eventually, this fragment circulates back to the lungs, which can lead to difficulties with breathing, an increased heart rate and feeling sharp pain sensations in their chest. The annual incidence rate in the United States for venous thrombosis is approximately 1 in every 1000 adults (White, 2003). The incidence rate increases exponentially over time with age. From a study using 16 metropolitan hospitals by Anderson et al, the incidence rate for DVT is 48 per 100,000 while …show more content…
One of the risk factors that is closely linked with mortality, due to thrombosis, is the increasing age of patients. Moreover, a follow-up study conducted by Heit et al. (1999) in Minnesota, 489 patients out of a total of 14,629 patients died from venous thrombosis. Out of the 489 patients that had died, there were 28 patients that suffered from only deep vein thrombosis while the remaining 461 suffered from pulmonary embolism, both with and without the presence of deep vein thrombosis. Furthermore, pulmonary embolism was considered as the underlying cause of death for 245