Long-term consequences of venous thrombosis

Linda Flinterman of Leiden University, the Netherlands and colleagues report in this week's PLoS Medicine on the long-term mortality rate for individuals who have experienced a first venous thrombosis or pulmonary embolism. They describe an ongoing elevated risk of death for individuals who had experienced a venous thrombosis or pulmonary embolism as compared to controls, for up to eight years after the event.

The authors say: "To our knowledge, this has been the first study to calculate mortality rates compared with the general population and compared to specific control groups. Therefore, we were able to define overall risks of death up to 8 [years] after thrombosis as well as the risk for several subgroups. Our results underline the major consequences of venous thrombosis, not only with regard to morbidity but also to mortality."