Anticoagulant treatment of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism.

Venous thrombosis is a common disease. As the mean age of the population increases, so does the incidence of venous thromboembolism. Anticoagulant therapy is equally effective in young and older patients, and can reduce substantially the associated morbidity and mortality. When considering long-term oral anticoagulant therapy in older patients, however, careful ongoing evaluation is imperative to ensure that the risk of bleeding does not outweigh the antithrombotic benefits.