Global Burden of Thrombosis

The 20th century saw life expectancy double and the world population quadruple because there was a global shift of morbidity and mortality from infectious to noninfectious causes. Cardiovascular diseases became the leading cause of death, of which 80% is borne by lowand middle-income countries. More specifically, thromboembolic conditions have been estimated to account for 1 in 4 deaths worldwide in 2010 and taken together, thrombosis, as the common underlying mechanism of myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, and venous thromboembolism (VTE), is the leading global cause of mortality (up from 1 in 5 deaths in 1990). In addition, although the ranking of the top 4 causes of death and years of life lost (YLLs) have not changed, there has been a decrease in death and YLL from respiratory infections and an increase in death and YLLs from ischemic heart disease and ischemic stroke. As a disease family, thrombosis comprises thromboses of the arteries and veins. The leading forms of arterial thromboses (as measured by morbidity and mortality) are ischemic Thrombosis Compendium