Commentary

The relationship between FV Leiden and pulmonary embolism

W Craig Hooper and Christine De Staercke

Hematologic Disease Branch, Division of AIDS, STD, and TB Laboratory Research, National Centers for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, USA

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Respiratory Research 2002, 3:8doi:10.1186/rr180

Published:	19 November 2001

Abstract

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is one of the leading causes of in-patient hospital deaths. As a consequence, the identification of hemostatic variables that could identify those at risk would be important in reducing mortality. It has previously been thought that deep vein thrombosis and PE are a single disease entity and would, therefore, have the same risk factors. This view is changing, however, with the realization that the prevalence of FV Leiden, a recognized genetic risk factor for deep vein thrombosis, may be a 'milder' genetic risk factor for PE. These observations suggest that PE is not only associated with a different set of risk factors, but may be reflective of a different clot structure.