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Charles V. Pollack, MD, has worked extensively as a medical researcher and clinician at various pharmaceutical institutions, such as the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Over more than three decades of work in areas of drug trial protocol development and regulatory oversight, Charles V. Pollack, MD, has developed in-depth insights into emerging treatments for health conditions such as thrombosis, a medical term for blood clot formations that can impact various parts of the body.
Thrombosis forms within blood vessels or heart chambers, but the clots can break free and travel almost anywhere in the body. As a result, the symptoms and severity of thrombosis can range considerably. Complications include pulmonary embolisms in the lungs, transient ischemic attacks and strokes in the brain, and heart attacks, among other serious side effects. Each year, doctors diagnose nearly a million Americans with venous thromboembolism, which includes deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. Research indicates that thrombosis is the central or underlying cause of 25 percent of deaths worldwide. The condition is common enough to rank as one of the leading causes of preventable hospitable deaths annually. Fortunately, medical researchers and clinicians like Charles V. Pollack, MD, have developed several types of treatments for thrombosis.
Before selecting a treatment option for a person living with thrombosis, medical professionals must first make a proper diagnosis. Care providers run several tests if they believe a person has developed thrombosis, including a thorough physical examination and various imaging and blood tests. Clot-formation markers and heart damage markers are especially helpful when it comes to diagnosing thrombosis.
Once care teams have determined that a patient is experiencing symptoms of thrombosis, they can develop a treatment plan. Popular options include medications, minimally invasive procedures, and more complex surgical solutions.
When it comes to medication, blood-thinners can help mitigate a person’s risk of developing more blood clots. Blood-thinners such as antiplatelet drugs and anticoagulants do not remove the threat of existing clots, but they can reduce the risk of the clot growing larger and causing more damage.
Thrombolytic therapy consists of a combination of medications known as “clot-busting drugs” that dissolve clots. Care teams often use these drugs as emergency treatments to eliminate clots in sensitive areas, such as parts of the body associated with heart attacks and strokes.
A thrombectomy, meanwhile, is a surgical procedure that provides medical professionals with a direct means of removing a dangerous clot from the body. In some cases, surgeons can remove clots using minimally invasive techniques, but the size or location of a clot may necessitate an open surgical procedure. Patients may benefit from multiple types of thrombosis treatment at once, in addition to treatments that address the various complications and symptoms caused by blood clots throughout the body.
The recovery time following thrombosis can vary on a case-by-case basis. That said, individuals should feel the effects of a successful treatment almost immediately. Depending on how long the body has experienced reduced blood flow, it may take only minutes or a few hours for the body to normalize. More serious clots, such as those that have led to a heart attack or stroke, may require several days before a person feels recovered, to say nothing of the recovery time from intensive medical operations. During the treatment planning phase, doctors can help patients understand the process, including expected recovery times.
