Large-Scale Global Registry to Examine Treatment Patterns and Disease Burden Among Patients with Venous Thromboembolism (VTE)

-- Four-year GARFIELD VTE Registry to prospectively follow 10,000 patients worldwide who have venous blood clots and are candidates for anticoagulant therapy --

AMSTERDAM, Sept. 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Thrombosis Research Institute (TRI) today announced the launch of the GARFIELD (Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD) VTE Registry, an innovative research initiative exploring acute and long-term management and outcomes in patients with symptomatic venous thromboembolism (VTE). Led by an international steering committee under the auspices of the TRI, the registry will follow 10,000 patients with acute VTE in a real-world setting. GARFIELD VTE is supported by an unrestricted research grant from Bayer HealthCare.

VTE is a disease process that encompasses two interrelated conditions: deep vein thrombosis (DVT), in which a blood clot forms in a deep vein such as the legs, and pulmonary embolism (PE), a life-threatening condition in which part of the clot breaks off and is carried to the lungs through the heart, cutting off the flow of blood to the lungs. In the Western world, one person dies every 37 seconds from VTE.

"Venous thromboembolism continues to represent an important clinical challenge, with a heavy burden for patients and healthcare systems," said Professor The Lord Kakkar, Professor of Surgery at University College London and Director of the Thrombosis Research Institute, London, UK. "Better understanding how best patient outcomes can be achieved will be greatly assisted through robust outcomes research. We are grateful for the unrestricted grant from Bayer Healthcare to support the Garfield VTE Registry which builds on our experience in better understanding the real world challenges of providing anticoagulation to prevent thromboembolic stroke in the Garfield AF Registry."

About GARFIELD
GARFIELD is a pioneering outcomes research initiative led under the auspices of the TRI through an unrestricted research grant from Bayer HealthCare. It is comprised of two large-scale registries: GARFIELD AF and GARFIELD VTE. The real-world, global observational programme seeks to describe the real-life burden of these diseases, and provide a better understanding of antithrombotic treatment patterns and potential opportunities for improving care and clinical outcomes.

GARFIELD AF (atrial fibrillation) is the largest prospective registry of patients with AF at risk of stroke. It will prospectively follow 50,000 newly-diagnosed AF patients from at least 1,000 centres in 34 countries in the Americas, Eastern and Western Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. Results to date show that anticoagulant therapy, particularly vitamin K antagonists (VKA), which are known to prevent stroke, are underutilised in AF patients who are at high risk for stroke while at the same time being over-used in low-risk patients.

GARFIELD VTE will include 10,000 patients with acute VTE and indicated for anticoagulation, across 500 randomly selected sites, from 20-25 countries over four years. The registry will focus on treatment duration, incidence of complications, practical aspects and health economic and outcomes research.

About the Thrombosis Research Institute (TRI)
TRI is a charitable foundation and multi-disciplinary research institute dedicated to the study of thrombosis and related disorders. TRI's mission is to provide excellence in thrombosis research and education; to develop new strategies to prevent and treat thrombosis; and thereby improve quality of care, advance clinical outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. The TRI is a member of University College London Partners Academic Health Science System.

For more information, visit http://www.tri-london.ac.uk/garfield.