Posted on 11/30/2008 2:18:54 PM PST by fightinJAG
ScienceDaily (Nov. 30, 2008) — The use of ultrasound waves for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) may help dissolve blood clots in less time than using clot-busting drugs alone, according to researchers at Emory University. The study will be presented Nov. 23, 2008 at the annual VEITHsymposium in New York City.
"These clots are a main cause of both heart attacks and stroke and the more quickly you can eliminate them the better," says Karthikeshwar Kasirajan, MD, assistant professor of surgery in the Emory University School of Medicine.
A DVT is a blood clot that forms in a vein deep in the body, most often in the lower leg or thigh. A loose clot, called an embolus, can break off and travel through the bloodstream to the lungs and block blood flow. The life-threatening condition is called pulmonary embolism. The surgeon general's campaign estimates that every year, between 350,000 and 600,000 Americans get one of these clots - and at least 100,000 of them die.
"We now know that using ultrasound, along with the traditional method of using drugs to break up or dissolve blood clots, will help restore flow, prevent valve damage and also prevent the possibility of pulmonary embolism," says Kasirajan.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...
Hi.
Interesting but how is the clot discovered before being zapped with ultrasound?
How often between clot discovery sessions?
The capability is great but is it a practical solution to the problem?
The clot is typically found using MRI’s. Ultrasound has been used for breaking up kidney stones, so this is not exactly a new concept.
A DVT often has some symptoms, such as redness in the area, swelling and pain.
I knew a woman who had none of those symptoms, yet the doc said one of the arteries in her leg was “like one giant blood clot for about five inches.” They did emergency surgery and put a mesh filter in to catch any pieces that broke off the clot before they could reach her brain, heart, etc.
I wonder in a situation like that if ultrasound could also help.
Another idea: after a stroke, people are given anti-clotting drugs in an effort to dissolve the clot that caused the stroke before it does any more damage. The stroke and nature of the symptoms might point to the clot’s location and, thus, allow it to be zapped.
Just musing on the possibilities.
But a blood clot that has caused stroke, for example, is an emergency situation (unlike most kidney stones). So this is new in application, I think.
What happens to the little fragments that are shed from the clot as it is broken down by acoustic energy? Unless the ultrasound literally liquefies the clot, there could be unpleasant consequences.
Vioxx was banned for, among other things, when combined with other NSAIDs, it caused catastrophic failure of arterial plaque, which was highly dangerous.
However, why not put that phenomena to good use? Specifically, by creating an arterial bypass, in which blood flow goes around the clogged section.
In the clogged section, run both oxygen therapeutics blood substitute and the “Drano” chemicals that breaks up the plaque, filtering out the large pieces, until that section of artery is cleared. The substitute carries a lot more oxygen than regular blood, so keeps the tissues oxygenated, and works great as long as it doesn’t flow through an internal organ.
thanks, bfl
DVT’s are found/diagnosed with Doppler ultrasound.
If I’m not mistaken, DVT’s are usually not dissolved with “clot busting drugs”. Now, if it were to break off and travel to another part of the body where it could become life-threatening, that’s a different story (and if it DID travel, it’s no longer a thrombus; rather, it’s an embolus).
The usual treatment for a DVT is anti-coagulation with Heparin (Lovenox is used outpatient, heparin drip in-patient). This will not dissolve the clot, but will hopefully prevent further extension of the clot as well as the clot breaking off and becoming an embolus.
If DVTs embolize, they won't normally cause heart attacks and stroke. They can become a pulmonary embolus, but they won't get past the lungs unless someone has an anatomical defect like an atrial septal defect, ventricular septal defect, etc.
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