Theme 2: Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Imaging of Venous Thromboembolism (and postthrombotic syndrome)

Venous thromboembolism (VTE), the collective term for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), is a major contributor to the global burden of disease. VTE is the third most common cardiovascular disease after myocardial infarction and stroke, which all together contribute to one in every four deaths worldwide. The estimated mean incidence of VTE is 1–2 per 1000 persons per year [ [1] Naess I.A. Christiansen S.C. Romundstad P. Cannegieter S.C. Rosendaal F.R. Hammerstrøm J. Incidence and mortality of venous thrombosis: a population-based study. J. Thromb. Haemost. 2007; 5: 692-699https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1538-7836.2007.02450.x Crossref PubMed Scopus (1002) Google Scholar ], which increases with age. 35% of the patients develop a PE and 6% of the VTEs are fatal in the acute phase and 20% after one year. Patients with PE have an almost two-fold higher 30-day case-fatality rate (~10%) compared to those with a DVT (~5%). This fatality rate increases even further for patients with underlying cancer (~20%). VTE is treated and prevented with anticoagulant therapy. However, surviving patients may suffer from post-thrombotic syndrome within the first year (25%), develop a recurrent VTE (3-5% per year), or have major bleeding due to anticoagulant therapy (1-3% per year).