Venous and arterial thromboembolism : prevention and prognosis

Abstract

This thesis is a journey in the vascular medicine. Chapter 1 is a general introduction. Chapter 2 is a meta-analysis on the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism on the emergency ward. Chapter 3 is a meta-analysis on the occurence of contrast induced nephropathy in patients suspected for pulmonary embolism. Chapter 4 demonstrates that patient delay does not influence the thrombus load in patients with acute pulmonary embolism. Chapter 5 shows that NT-pro-BNP levels in pulmonary embolism patients is caused by stress on the right ventricle. Chap 6 is a study in a population at the secondary epidemiological transition. It demonstrates that in this patient group cardiovascular disease are becoming more prevalent. Blood pressure significantly raises the risk for arterial thromboeolic events. In chapter 7 we studied the risk of atherothrombotic events in patiens after a proximal deep-vein thrombosis. Hereby showing that these two disease might share some common risk factors. Chapter 8 and 9 are a summary and general discussion in Dutch and English.