Genetics of blood clots during pregnancy

Venous thromboembolism, or VTE, is a blood clot that starts in a vein. In time, the clot can break off and end up in your lung. VTE is a combination of two terms. The first is venous thrombosis, or VT. This is a blood clot in a deep vein. Venous means vein. Thrombosis means blood clot. A deep vein is one that is not near the skin. Clots often form in your thigh or lower leg. But they can also form in other areas of your body. The other term is pulmonary embolism, or PE. This is a clot in your lung. Pulmonary means lung. Embolism is anything that can move through a blood vessel until it causes a blockage. This could be blood, a fat globule, air bubble, or something else. A PE can cause trouble breathing, heart failure, or even death. Risk factors for VTE include sitting still for long periods of time and smoking. High blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol also increase your risk. Changes in some genes can be a risk factor for VTE. For women, pregnancy and certain hormones can increase your risk of VTE. Women having twins or triplets, or get pregnant at a later age are at increased risk for VTE. The more risk factors you have, the greater risk for VTE. Scientists at Vanderbilt will use BioVU to learn more about VTE and pregnancy. They will compare women who have been pregnant that did or did not have VTE. They will look for gene changes linked to VTE. They hope to find a link between certain gene changes and VTE. Their results will help us learn more about VTE. They may also help us learn more about risk factors for VTE. If we know who is at risk, we may be able to reduce the chances of these blood clots forming.