Tag Archives: upper extremity deep vein thrombosis

Background Venous thromboembolism (VTE), comprising deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), arises from Virchow’s triad: venous stasis, endothelial injury, and hypercoagulability. Upper extremity DVT (UEDVT) represents ~10% of all DVTs, with an annual incidence of 0.4–1.0 per 10,000 people.1 Symptomatic disease is rarer. Causes are primary or, more commonly (~60%), secondary to central venous catheters, pacemaker leads, malignancy, or other prothrombotic states.2,3 Pacemaker leads substantially increase UEDVT risk. A 2021 meta-analysis (Duijzer et al.) reported a >10-fold higher incidence after transvenous lead insertio