Venous Thrombosis as a Chronic Disease

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Abstract
The lethal complication of deep-vein thrombosis is pulmonary embolism. Since about 80 percent of the patients who die of pulmonary embolism succumb within two hours of the onset of symptoms,1 intervention must focus on prevention. Patients who have had a thromboembolic event are at increased risk for recurrence. Oral anticoagulant therapy has up to 90 percent efficacy in preventing repeated episodes. Although the optimal intensity of anticoagulation with warfarin in this situation has been determined,2 generally with an international normalized ratio (INR) of 2.0 to 3.0 set as the target, the optimal duration of prophylaxis has remained uncertain since the . . .