Hello and welcome to the Zero to Finals podcast.

My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be talking to you about deep vein thrombosis and venous thromboembolism.

And you can find written notes on this topic at zero to finals.com or in the hematology section of the second edition of the 0 to

finals medicine book. So let's get straight into it.

Venus thromboembolism, or VTE, is a common and potentially fatal condition. It involves a blood clot

or thrombus developing in the circulation, usually secondary

to blood stagnation or hypercoagulable states. When a thrombus develops in a deep vein,

it's called a deep vein thrombosis, or dvety. Once a thrombus has developed, it can travel or embolize from the deep veins through the right

side of the heart and into the lungs, where it becomes lodged in the pulmonary arteries.

This blocks blood flow to areas of the lungs distal to the blood clot and is called a pulmonary embolism,

or PE. If a patient has a septal defect in their heart, for example an atrial septal defect,

that is a hole between the left and right hand side of the heart, the thrombus can pass through

to the left side of the heart and into the systemic

circulation. If it travels to the brain, it can cause a large stroke. Let's go through the risk

factors. The risk factors for venous thromboembolism are immobility, recent surgery, long haul travel, for example, aeroplane trips to the other side of the

world, pregnancy, hormone therapy with estrogen, for example the combined contraceptive

pill or hormone replacement therapy, malignancy or cancer, polycythemia, systemic lupus erythematosis, and thrombophilia.

Atontip, in your exams, when a patient presents with possible features of a deep vein thrombosis

or a pulmonary embolism, ask about risk factors such as periods of immobility,

surgery and long-haul flights, and this will score you extra points.

Let's talk about thrombophilias.

Thrombophilias are conditions that predispose patients to developing blood clots.

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