ABSTRACT
Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a leading cause of mortality in the United States
and causes more deaths than AIDS, breast cancer, and motor vehicle crashes combined.
Pulmonary embolism (PE) is responsible for up to 200,000 fatalities annually in the United
States, while in 2002 AIDS-related deaths were seen in 14,095 individuals (1). Breast
cancer-related fatalities for the year 2002 were estimated to be 41,883 patients (2), while
U.S. highway fatalities that same year were 44,065 individuals (3). The in-hospital case
fatality rate attributed to venous thromboembolic disease is 10-25% in the United States.
Elderly patients suffering pulmonary emboli have a case fatality rate of 15% at 28 days,
while cancer patients have a 25% fatality rate at 28 days. By one year elderly VTE victims
suffered a mortality rate of 21% and cancer patients 39% (1,4,5). Most of these studies
underestimate the incidence of VTE because of low autopsy rates of 10-20%, outpatient
cases were not counted, and long-term care facility data were not considered. The actual
mortality from VTE is probably higher, but unfortunately, unlike breast cancer and AIDS,
the National Center for Health Statistics does not track deaths due to VTE.
