Tag: BLOOD CLOTS

Anticoagulation Forum: Transforming Anticoagulation Care through Knowledge and Stewardship

By the Anticoagulation Forum

Anticoagulation Forum: Transforming  Anticoagulation Care through Knowledge and Stewardship 

Ensuring optimal patient care in anticoagulation and thrombosis management requires  up-to-date education, strong clinical guidance, and a commitment to best practices. The  Anticoagulation Forum (AC Forum) stands at the forefront of this mission, offering a  comprehensive set of resources and fostering stewardship programs to empower healthcare professionals worldwide. 

Reaching over 15,000 clinicians in more than 100 countries, AC Forum serves as a  trusted source for physicians, pharmacists, nurses, and allied health professionals who  support more than 1 million patients annually, helping them navigate the complexities of  anticoagulation care with confidence and accuracy. 

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3 Types of Patients At Risk for Blood Clots

This World Thrombosis Day (October 13, 2024) – Be Blood Clot Aware!

  • Do you have swelling in your leg or arm?
  • Do you have tenderness and cramps in your leg?
  • Do you have shortness of breath or are out of breath?
  • Do you feel lightheaded or feel like passing out?
  • Do you have chest or back pain when breathing?

Did you answer yes? Then, you may be experiencing a life-threatening condition – a blood clot (thrombosis).

According to World Thrombosis Day, 1 in 4 people worldwide die from conditions caused by thrombosis.

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Blood Clot Awareness Can Save a Life!

Blood Clot Awareness Can Save a Life!

The month of March is blood clot awareness month. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention): 

Anyone can be affected by a blood clot regardless of age, gender, or race. This Blood Clot Awareness Month, learn the signs and symptoms of a blood clot and find free resources to share with friends, family, and colleagues to help raise awareness about blood clots.

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Who needs to wear an SCD and How long Should SCDs Be Worn?: An Interview with Dr. Amy Campbell on Preventing Blood Clot

By Michael Wong, JD (Founder & Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety)

CDC estimates that almost one million Americans suffer from venous thromboembolism (VTE), also known as blood clots. VTE is a term that is comprised of two medical conditions deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which is a blood clot in one or more of the deep veins in the body, usually in the legs, and pulmonary embolism (PE), which is a blood clot in a pulmonary artery in the lungs. 

According to the CDC:

  • As many as 100,000 people die of blood clots each year.
  • PE is a leading cause of death in a woman during pregnancy or just after having a baby.
  • Blood clots are a leading cause of death in people with cancer after cancer itself.

Continue reading “Who needs to wear an SCD and How long Should SCDs Be Worn?: An Interview with Dr. Amy Campbell on Preventing Blood Clot” →

Blood Clots in COVID Patients

Blood Clots in COVID Patients

Editor’s note: Blood clots are occurring in patients diagnosed with COVID-19. This article offers some of the key treatments and recommendations you may experience when admitted to hospital and then discharged home. As well, it discusses the interim clinical guidance from the Anticoagulation Forum.

By Michael Wong (Founder/Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety)

An average of 274 people die from blood clots – which works out to about one death every six minutes. These statistics are pre-COVID statistics.

Because of the current COVID-19 pandemic, this may be changing. There have been reports about the development of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients with COVID-19. The International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis has collected a number of studies and case reports on thrombosis in COVID-19 patients, and the Journal of American College of Cardiology released a review of current understanding, citing many of the studies and case reports which are on the ISTH site. 

This COVID-19 pandemic is proving a challenge for clinicians to care for patients diagnosed with COVID-19. The interim clinical guidance from the Anticoagulation Forum (AC Interim Guidance) discusses the challenges of diagnosing a thrombotic event in COVID patients:

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COVID-19 Patients Are at a Greater Risk of Blood Clots

Editor’s note: Our understanding of COVID-19 symptomatology is evolving as the current pandemic unfolds. The International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis has collected a number of studies and case reports on thrombosis in COVID-19 patients. The Journal of American College of Cardiology released a review of current understanding, citing many of the studies and case reports which are on the ISTH site. This COVID-19 pandemic challenges us to use current knowledge and innovate new approaches to care for patients diagnosed with COVID-19. This article seeks to summarize some of the current knowledge about thrombosis in COVID-19 patients, knowing that future studies and case reports will undoubtedly refine the statements made below. However, this is science, continually evolving and improving based on current understanding. With that, this article offers some insights about VTE in patients admitted to the hospital who have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

By Michael Wong (Founder/Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety), Laurie Paletz, BSN PHN RN BC SCRN (Manager, Stroke Program Department of Neurology, Cedars-Sinai), and Thereza B. Ayad, RN, MSN, DNP, CNOR (Assistant Professor, University of Massachusetts Medical School-Graduate School of Nursing; Surgical Services Clinical Staff Educator, North Shore Medical Center)

(reviewed by Sue Koob, MPA, Chief Executive Officer, Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association and Pat Salber, MD, MBA, Editor-in-Chief, DoctorWeighsIn)

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8 Ways We Need to Reconsider How We Think About Patient Safety

Articles we have been reading this past week of April 16, 2018 ask us to reconsider how we think about patient safety.

#1 – COPD prevalence is nearly double in rural areas compared to metropolitan areas

The risk of COPD is nearly double in rural areas compared to that in urban areas, according to CDC’s Weekly Morbidity and Mortality Report.

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PPAHS Participates in 1st Annual Anticoagulation Summit

Patient advocates and leading medical societies involved in awareness building and improving patient safety in Atrial Fibrillation (Afib) and venous thromboembolism (VTE) gathered recently for the 1st Annual Anticoagulation Summit, a two-day conference.

Michael Wong, JD, founder and Executive Director of the Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety (PPAHS), presented a poster on the OB VTE Safety Recommendations, which were released by PPAHS, in collaboration with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and the National Perinatal Association. The recommendations, compiled by a panel of health experts, give clinicians a step-by-step checklist to help assess all OB patients’ risks for VTE and identify the appropriate prophylaxis regimen to improve health outcomes for maternal patients. Continue reading “PPAHS Participates in 1st Annual Anticoagulation Summit” →