Recent news headlines continue to show how people are affected every day by blood clots. The University of Nebraska head women’s basketball coach, leading athletes, and even teens have been the latest people to experience blood clots. Without warning, these incidents can change a person’s life. Sometimes lingering issues cause a host of chronic symptoms known as postthrombotic syndrome.
These types of symptoms can develop in the arms or legs and include pain, swelling, ulcers, and discoloration. Hundreds of thousands of people deal with these issues nationwide. Health care professionals are critical to helping a patient after they have dealt with a blood clot. Doctors can prescribe compression stockings, sequential compression devices, and Unna boots to prevent skin ulcers, for example.
“Doctors can be proactive and screen their patient for any new clots that might come up and if none are found, the physician can prescribe the right compression and course of action to keep the patient from further pain and complications,” said Vascular PRN president Greg Grambor.
The National Alliance for Thrombosis and Thrombophilia (NATT) states that these symptoms usually happen in the first six months after experiencing a clot, but can happen as long as two years after the original bout with a clot.1 The NATT recommends that patients who can exercise and maintain a correct body weight for their age and height can also improve their symptoms with the right compression therapies as part of a comprehensive approach to the problem.
“It is important that any prescribing physicians take the steps to ensure that contraindications for any of these therapies do not exist and that your progress is monitored as you get back to your daily routine and take on exercise,” said Grambor.
To learn more about sequential compression devices, SCD boots or Vascular PRN’s other products for rent or for sale to the medical community, visit http://www.vascularprn.com/ or call 800.886.4331. Vascular PRN has decades of experience helping nursing homes, surgery centers and hospitals, managed care organizations, and other institutions with their compression therapy product needs.
