March 9, 2015 — NYU Langone Medical Center has announced the creation of a new multidisciplinary Venous Thromboembolic Disease Center (VTEC) to treat those with life-threatening blood clots. The new VTEC delivers advanced detection, comprehensive care and effective management for patients experiencing a venous thromboembolic event.
Venous thromboembolism, or VTE, is extremely prevalent, occurring in about 600,000 Americans annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There are two main types of VTE: deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). Deep vein thrombosis occurs when a blood clot forms in the deep veins of the legs, pelvis or arms. Pulmonary embolisms occur when these blood clots travel toward the heart and block blood flow in the lungs.
Risk factors for DVT include long periods of sitting, trauma or surgery, smoking, obesity, taking birth control pills and a family history of blood clots. Currently, the most common treatment for DVT is a blood thinner medication, though other interventions may be needed.
VTEC comprises a multidisciplinary team of physicians, surgeons, researchers and other medical staff who specialize in DVT and PE, and is a collaboration of more than 20 specialties including hematology, vascular surgery, cardiology, radiology, emergency medicine and more. This collaboration resulted in unique evidence-based protocols for treating all types of patients who experience a DVT or PE.
In addition, NYU Langone’s scientists and researchers are collaborating to conduct a large clinical study with the goal of increasing understanding of the risk factors for blood clots, and improving prevention and treatment.
“Our goal is to develop a genetic ‘handprint’ for blood clots in the form of a blood test that can warn us which patients may develop different kind of blood clots, such as deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolisms, so we can offer the best preventive treatments to keep these events from occurring,” said Jeffrey Berger, MD, a researcher at VTEC.
He noted, “We’re proud that we’ve already been able to create standardized, evidenced-based guidelines for screening, preventing, diagnosing, and managing blood clots that are used throughout NYU Langone. We are able to track virtually every patient found to have a blood clot while being treated here, enabling an expert from VTEC to quickly and seamlessly treat patients.”
For more information: www.nyulmc.org/vtec
November 21, 2022 
