By Jennifer Bradley, Staff Writer
These hereditary factors are helpful in
determining the risk of VTE in men and women between
the ages of 10 and 69. Those families with a history
of VTE have a strong genetic link to occurrences of
the disorder in siblings.
In a person between the ages of 10 and 19, if a
sibling does have VTE issues, the risk of developing
it is nearly five times greater than in those
without a sibling history of the disorder. In
the older population of ages 60 to 69, the risk is
twice as much than when younger.
Women have a higher occurrence of VTE, especially
between the ages of 10 to 40, when a sibling already
has been diagnosed. The rate becomes higher for men
over the age of 50.
The Swedish researchers found that most of the
familial risk of increased VTE occurrence was from
genetics, not environmental factors. This
information is useful to medical professionals,
especially when performing a procedure on someone
who may have a higher risk of clotting due to a
sibling’s history.
Prevention
There are a number of ways to help prevent VTE
from occurring or limit the severity of the
disorder:
- Early mobilization after surgery
- Sit with legs together rather than crossed
- Keep mobile
- Weight management
- Quit smoking
- Avoid tight clothing
- Use of graduated compression stockings
- Use of venous foot pumps, and
- Use of blood-thinning drugs (usually
anticoagulant drugs).
When faced with a chance of having VTE, the first
thing is to confirm the diagnosis, then decide on
treatment, as well as self-management. The Swedish
may have found a familial connection, but there are
healthy lifestyle tips anyone can implement to make
the threat of blood clots less likely to occur in
the first place.
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