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5 articles celebrating National Blood Clot Awareness Month
National Blood Clot Awareness Month is observed throughout March to increase global awareness about blood clots, including causes, risk factors, symptoms, prevention and treatment strategies.
Cardiology Today and Cardiology Today’s Intervention has compiled a list of 5 articles to help raise awareness during National Blood Clot Awareness month.
VIDEO: ‘Binge-watching’ boosts risk for deep vein thrombosis
ANAHEIM, Calif. — In this Cardiology Today video perspective, John P. Higgins, MD, MBA, discusses a study that explored the relationship between “binge-watching” TV and risk for deep vein thrombosis.
The study, presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions, showed that people who were regular TV watchers were almost twice as likely to experience DVT or blood clots in their legs. This was especially true for those who watched TV for longer lengths of time — binge-watching.
First patient enrolled in DAPT duration trial
Abbott recently announced the first patient enrollment for a trial evaluating shorter-duration dual antiplatelet therapy in patients at high risk for bleeding after everolimus-eluting coronary stent implantation.
Typically, patients are prescribed DAPT for 1 year after receiving a stent to prevent clot formation in the arteries or around the stent. The trial will evaluate whether DAPT as short as 28 days is safe and effective in patients at high risk for bleeding who received the EES (Xience, Abbott), the company stated in a press release.
Clot retrieval device for stroke now cleared for use up to 24 hours
The FDA announced that it has cleared a clot retrieval device for treatment of certain patients with stroke for use up to 24 hours after onset of symptoms.
The device (Trevo, Concentric Medical/Stryker Neurovascular) was first cleared by the FDA in 2012 to remove a blood clot and restore blood flow in patients with stroke who could not receive tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) or those who did not respond to it, and the device received an expanded indication in 2016 for use within 6 hours of onset in certain patients with stroke who received tPA, according to a press release issued by the agency.
Mechanical thrombectomy, IV alteplase recommendations updated in new stroke guidelines
IV alteplase may benefit patients with mild strokes, and mechanical thrombectomy may be performed up to 24 hours after the onset of an acute ischemic stroke, according to newly released guidelines published by the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association in Stroke.
“The purpose of these guidelines is very broad,” William J. Powers, MD, FAHA, chair of the department of neurology and H. Houston Merritt distinguished professor at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and chair of the guidelines writing group, said during a press conference. “They’re not just for physicians. They’re for any health care provider who cares for patients with acute ischemic stroke.”
Telemedicine decreases time to alteplase administration for stroke
A novel telemedicine program increased alteplase administration rates and shortened door-to-needle times without an increase in adverse outcomes, according to a study published in Stroke.
“When a stroke happens, minutes matter,” Mai Nguyen-Huynh, MD, MAS, vascular neurologist and research scientist in the division of research at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, California, said in a press release. “Faster treatment with intravenous alteplase (Activase, Genentech), which dissolves the stroke-causing clot and restores blood flow to the brain, is strongly associated with better functional outcomes for stroke patients.”