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.