Patients with a first episode of idiopathic venous thromboembolism should be treated with anticoagulant agents for longer than three months.

Low-molecular-weight heparin can be used safely and effectively to treat patients with proximal deep-vein thrombosis at home.

Antithrombotic therapy with enoxaparin plus aspirin was more effective than unfractionated heparin plus aspirin in reducing the incidence of ischemic events in patients with unstable angina or non-Q-wave myocardial infarction in the early phase. This benefit of enoxaparin was achieved with an increase in minor but not in major bleeding.

Conventional-intensity warfarin therapy is more effective than low-intensity warfarin therapy for the long-term prevention of recurrent venous thromboembolism. The low-intensity warfarin regimen does not reduce the risk of clinically important bleeding.

No abstract