(2009-04-30) Hospital Clot Deaths

The biggest danger (from blood clots) is to hospitalized patients, where DVT followed by pulmonary embolism - a sequence of occurrences known as a venous thromboembolism event, or VTE - kills nearly 200,000 U.S. patients a year. Though VTE most often happens to adults over 40, any patient on bed rest after illness or surgery is vulnerable, even after being discharged from hospital. It is the leading cause of maternal death associated with childbirth, which puts pressure on deep veins... Pulmonary Embolism (is) the leading cause of preventable hospital deaths (Medical Error) in the U.S. The disorder occurs when a blood clot forms in the deep veins of the legs or pelvis, known as deep-vein thrombosis, and then breaks free and travels to the lungs, where it blocks a pulmonary artery or one of its branches.