New Survey Reveals 60 Percent of Americans Have Not Heard About DVT

NEW YORK, March 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — A new national survey conducted by the Coalition to Prevent Deep-Vein Thrombosis (DVT) reveals that while nearly 75 percent of Americans believe DVT deserves more attention, 60 percent have not heard about this condition, which affects up to two million Americans each year. While physicians reported that they are nearly twice as likely as the general public to have heard or read about DVT, less than a quarter of physicians surveyed reported that they educate their high-risk patients about DVT and only half prescribe medication for these patients.

To address and close the gap between risk assessment and patient understanding, the Coalition to Prevent Deep-Vein Thrombosis (DVT) is kicking off the fourth annual National DVT Awareness Month by launching DVT Awareness by Design, a grassroots educational campaign designed to engage action and boost public awareness of a condition that kills more people in the United States than AIDS and breast cancer combined.

Launched during DVT Awareness Month this March, DVT Awareness by Design invites healthcare professionals, hospitals, communities and individuals across the country to go beyond building awareness of signs and symptoms of DVT. This new campaign actively encourages the public and physicians to demonstrate their support through designing and personalizing their own socks to showcase what DVT means to them.

“Participants in DVT Awareness by Design will serve as representatives for DVT awareness, helping foster a dialogue between patients and physicians,” said Melanie Bloom, National Patient Spokesperson for the Coalition to Prevent DVT. “Further, by proudly wearing their designs and putting names and faces to this dangerous condition, participants will serve as ambassadors to educate the public and bring much-needed focus to treatment and prevention.”

This campaign follows a print and broadcast public service announcement featuring notable television personalities, including NBC’s Today Show Meredith Vieira and Al Roker, ABC Sports’ Bonnie Bernstein, in addition to Coalition to Prevent DVT Spokesperson Melanie Bloom. The national public service announcement by Melanie Bloom, who joined the Coalition to Prevent DVT as its national spokesperson following the death of husband David Bloom, an NBC correspondent who died from complications related to DVT while covering the Iraq war in 2003, will further stimulate awareness and education for DVT. In the public service announcement, Mrs. Bloom reinforces the importance of knowing DVT risks and recognizing its symptoms.

“DVT can be a life and death matter, yet we have the power to fight this condition,” Larry Wellikson, MD, FACP, Society of Hospital Medicine, and a member of the Coalition to Prevent DVT. “We encourage that the healthcare community uses the tools from the DVT Awareness by Design campaign to increase educational programs for healthcare leaders nationwide. We also encourage them to incorporate preventative standards into daily practice and implement the Surgeon General’s Call to Action on DVT to help reduce the risk of DVT nationwide.”

The Coalition has distributed hundreds of DVT Awareness by Design Kits to hospitals and healthcare communities across the country. The kits are designed to encourage individuals to become engaged in raising awareness of DVT and to submit photo entries of their DVT-designed socks on http://www.preventdvt.org/. The kits include socks, markers, DVT pins, ribbon stencils, instructions on “How to Design Your Own DVT Sock,” DVT fact sheets, and a disposable camera. Additional information about requesting a design kit and how to share your DVT personalized socks is located at http://www.preventdvt.org/.

DVT occurs when a blood clot forms and partially or completely blocks blood flow inside a deep vein, typically located in the calf or thigh. If the blood clot breaks free and travels to the lungs — known as a pulmonary embolism (PE), it may obstruct the pulmonary artery or one of its branches, blocking blood flow to the heart. Each year, DVT-related complications kill up to 300,000 Americans.

For more information about DVT Awareness by Design, visit http://www.preventdvt.org/.

About Deep-Vein Thrombosis and Pulmonary Embolism

Up to 600,000 Americans are hospitalized each year for DVT and its primary complication, PE. Fatal PE may be the most common preventable cause of hospital death in the United States. Complications from DVT kill more people each year in the U.S. than breast cancer and AIDS combined.

Certain individuals may be at increased risk for developing DVT, but the disease can occur in almost anyone. Additional risk factors include, but are not limited to, trauma or major surgery, such as hip or knee replacements, advanced age, oral contraceptives or hormone therapy. It is important to consult your healthcare provider about the signs and symptoms associated with DVT. Combine with the above graph.

DVT Awareness Month is sponsored by the Coalition to Prevent Deep-Vein Thrombosis. The Coalition to Prevent Deep-Vein Thrombosis is funded by sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC.

The Coalition to Prevent Deep-Vein Thrombosis

The mission of the Coalition to Prevent Deep-Vein Thrombosis is to reduce the immediate and long-term dangers of deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), which together comprise one of the nation’s leading causes of death. The Coalition will educate the public, healthcare professionals and policy-makers about risk factors, symptoms and signs associated with DVT, as well as identify evidence-based measures to prevent morbidity and mortality from DVT and PE.

DVT Awareness Survey Findings: General Population and Physicians

The Coalition to Prevent Deep-Vein Thrombosis (DVT) recently sponsored a national online survey of 800 consumers and 104 physicians, conducted by Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates, to assess what Americans know about DVT.

Up to two million Americans are affected each year by DVT, with up to 600,000 hospitalized. Its primary complication, pulmonary embolism (PE), claims up to 300,000 lives annually – more than breast cancer and AIDS combined. The survey results point to an ongoing need for consumers and physicians alike to know more about this leading cause of death and how they may help reduce the risk of DVT.

Consumers

Despite the life-threatening nature of DVT, most people know far less about it than they do about allergies.

   — Only 25% say they know something or a great deal about DVT, while      79% know something or a great deal about allergies.   — 75% say they know little or nothing about DVT.   

While most people recognize the significance of some DVT risk factors, nearly half fail to realize the significance of risk factors such as oral contraceptives, pneumonia and cancer.

   — A majority of Americans are able to recognize the significance of      such risk factors for DVT, such as a history of DVT (69%), restricted      mobility (57%) and leg swelling (57%).   — When probed, nearly half rate such common DVT risk factors as cancer     (51%), oral contraceptives (46%) and pneumonia (41%) as      “not significant.”

Three-quarters of Americans believe DVT deserves more attention, but most have not heard anything about it recently.

   — After hearing a brief description of DVT, 74% of the general      population believes DVT is a disease that deserves more attention      than it gets.   — Yet 60% have not heard or read about DVT in the past year    Physicians    Many physicians may not be well prepared to recognize and treat DVT.   — Only four in 10 physicians (41%) say the medical community is very      prepared to recognize and treat DVT, and 28% think the medical      community as a whole knows a great deal about DVT.   — Although most physicians can identify some common DVT symptoms, only      about one-third recognize numbness (33%) and low blood circulation      (29%) as symptoms.   

Most physicians think DVT is very serious, and almost all agree that they should inform patients about the symptoms and risks of DVT, yet less than a quarter currently do so.

   — 73% of physicians think DVT is a very serious problem.   — 94% of physicians believe that informing patients about DVT symptoms      and risks is important.   — Only 20% say that they speak with their patients about DVT very often,      while 12% of patients report that their primary care physician has      discussed DVT with them.   

A vast majority of physicians feel that more than half of DVTs are preventable, yet only about half prescribe medication for patients at high risk.

   — 85% of physicians say that at least 50% of all DVTs can be prevented.   — 52% prescribe an anti-coagulant or other pharmacologic agent as their      first step for patients who may have DVT or are at high      risk of developing it.   

The Coalition to Prevent Deep-Vein Thrombosis is funded by sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC

Coalition to Prevent Deep-Vein Thrombosis

CONTACT: Hampton Shaddock, Office: +1-202-530-4766, for Coalition toPrevent Deep-Vein Thrombosis

Web site: http://www.preventdvt.org/