Beyond breathing: How COVID-19 affects your heart, brain and other organs
It's easy to be complacent about COVID-19. Most people experience only mild issues—fever and coughing, maybe congestion and shortness of breath.
Jan 18, 2024
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It's easy to be complacent about COVID-19. Most people experience only mild issues—fever and coughing, maybe congestion and shortness of breath.
Jan 18, 2024
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41
Female victims of gun violence in the US are less likely to die than their male counterparts, despite having similar injury severity, finds a seven-year analysis of a US national injury database, published in the open access ...
Dec 12, 2023
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When the new SARS-CoV-2 virus began killing thousands of people every week, physicians and scientists around the globe raced to learn why the new pathogen was so deadly. Among many early findings, experts noted that the infection ...
Oct 5, 2023
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A prediction model can be used to identify people affected by venous thromboembolism who have only a low risk of recurrence and may not require long-term blood thinning. The validity of this Vienna Prediction Model developed ...
Oct 4, 2023
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If doctors in hospital emergency departments are trained to carry out ultrasound on patients with suspected deep vein thrombosis (DVT), they can nearly halve the time the patients spend in these departments.
Sep 17, 2023
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Over the last 20 years, treatments for pulmonary embolism have advanced greatly. Several new therapies were developed alongside widespread adoption of emergency response teams for the condition, which is marked by a blockage ...
Aug 31, 2023
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Atopic dermatitis (AD) in adulthood is associated with an increased risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE), according to a study published online May 31 in JAMA Dermatology.
Jun 1, 2023
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The risk of new thromboembolic events after discontinuation of anticoagulant therapy in patients with pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis associated with COVID-19 is low and similar to that of patients with venous ...
May 3, 2023
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Blood clot researchers could benefit from a new device that mimics a human vein, replacing the need for animals for some studies.
Apr 27, 2023
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Patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) who undergo total knee replacement are at higher risk for complications than non-SCD patients, according to a large-scale, retrospective study by researchers from UT Southwestern Medical ...
Apr 17, 2023
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In medicine, deep vein thrombosis (also known as deep-vein thrombosis or deep venous thrombosis and usually abbreviated as DVT) is the formation of a blood clot ("thrombus") in a deep vein. It is a form of thrombophlebitis (inflammation of a vein with clot formation).
Deep vein thrombosis commonly affects the leg veins (such as the femoral vein or the popliteal vein) or the deep veins of the pelvis. Occasionally the veins of the arm are affected (if spontaneous, this is known as Paget-Schrötter disease). A DVT can occur without symptoms, but in many cases the affected extremity will be painful, swollen, red, warm and the superficial veins may be engorged. The most serious complication of a DVT is that the clot could dislodge and travel to the lungs, which is called a pulmonary embolism (PE). DVT is a medical emergency, present in the lower extremity there is 3% chance of a PE killing the patient. A late complication of DVT is the post-phlebitic syndrome, which can manifest itself as edema, pain or discomfort and skin problems.
According to Virchow's triad, venous thrombosis occurs via three mechanisms: decreased flow rate of the blood, damage to the blood vessel wall and an increased tendency of the blood to clot (hypercoagulability). Several medical conditions can lead to DVT, such as compression of the veins, physical trauma, cancer, infections, certain inflammatory diseases and specific conditions such as stroke, heart failure or nephrotic syndrome. There are several factors which can increase a person's risk for DVT, including surgery, hospitalization, immobilization (such as when orthopedic casts are used, or during long-haul flights, leading to economy class syndrome), smoking, obesity, age, certain drugs (such as estrogen or erythropoietin) and inborn tendencies to form clots known as thrombophilia (for example, in carriers of factor V Leiden). Women have an increased risk during pregnancy and in the postnatal period.
The most commonly used tests for the diagnosis of DVT are a blood test called D-dimers and doppler ultrasound of the affected veins. Sometimes, further testing is required to find the cause of the DVT. In specific cases, an attempt can be made to break down the clot (using thrombolytic agents). To prevent further accrual and formation of new clots with a risk of pulmonary embolism, anticoagulation (blood thinners) is advised (if not possible, an inferior vena cava filter may be used). Prevention of DVT is advised in many medical and surgical inpatients using anticoagulants, graduated compression stockings (also known as thromboembolic deterrent stockings) or intermittent pneumatic compression devices.
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA