What You Should Know About Deep-Vein Thrombosis (NAPS)—Learning more about deep-vein thrombosis (DVT), a serious but preventable medical condition, could save yourlife. DVT describes a blood clot (throm- bus) in a major vein, usually in the lower leg or thigh. According to the American Heart Association, up to two million Americans develop DVT each year, and an estimated 600,000 go on to develop Pulmonary Embolism (PE), a potentially fatal com- plication where bloodclots affect the lungs and eventually the heart. An estimated 200,000 people die each year from PE in the U.S.—more than AIDSandbreast cancer combined. Symptoms of DVT may include pain, sudden swelling in the calf or thigh, tenderness, discoloration or redness, and skin that is warm to the touch. As many ashalf ofall DVT episodes produce minimal symptoms or are completely “silent” and may remain undiag- Preventing DVT * If you have hospitalization coming up, ask your doctor what you can do to promotestrong muscles and good circulation. If you're not already doing so, speak to your doctor about starting some moderate aerobic activity. If you will be contined to a bed or chair, regular stretching and leg movementarevital. Avoid smoking. Maintain a healthy weight. Walk for 30 minutes before boarding a plane. Keep your legs elevated while flying. @ accurately check for newly-forming nosed until they lead to a lifethreatening pulmonary embolism. thrombi (blood clots) in the large, diagnostic tool but is not considered particularly accurate for asympto- tional ultrasound scans to make a diagnosis, but ultrasound cannot distinguish whetherthe clot is an Ultrasound is the most common matic patients or for DVT below the knee. Venography is a painful and much less commonly used proce- dure where a contrast agent is injected into a vein on top of the foot and X-rays track the solution through the vein of the leg. However, the same type of nuclear medicine procedure used today for liver, lung, bone and brain scans may one day help detect DVT. A new diagnostic imaging agent, called FIBRIMAGE’, under develop- ment by Canadian-based Draxis Health, aims to make DVT diagno- sis more reliable in order to detect potentially life-threatening clots and to avoid unnecessary treatment of patients who do not have clots. Researchers are investigating whether this imaging agent can deep veins in the lower limbs. “Most doctors rely on conven- active clot needing urgent attention or a chronic inactive clot,” said Dr. Martin Barkin, CEO of Draxis Health. An injection of FIBRIMAGE binds to humanfibrin, part of an actively forming blood clot, and within one to two hours the clot can be seen using a standard with a gamma camera. The procedure is expected to allow physicians to distinguish, with a high degree of sensitivity, a new active thrombus from any older and less-threatening stabilized clots. The public companyis expected to conduct an additional late-stage trial in the United States. For more information, log www.draximage.com. on to
