Women-specific aspects of venous thromboembolism

Women have a higher lifetime risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) than men. Hormone-associated risk factors such as pregnancy, contraception and hormone replacement therapy contribute significantly to this. Contraception with combined hormonal contraception increases the risk of VTE in young women, with the extent of the increase in risk being determined by the level of the estrogen dose and the progestin component. After hormone associated VTE, temporary anticoagulation is sufficient in many cases, provided there are no additional persistent risk factors. Affected women should be informed that the risk of VTE recurrence is increased in a subsequent pregnancy and usually requires VTE prophylaxis with low molecular weight heparin during pregnancy. If the suspicion of recurrent VTE arises during pregnancy, diagnostics must be carried out promptly so that deep vein thrombosis and/or pulmonary embolism can be reliably confirmed or ruled out.