Coalition Information

About the Coalition to Prevent Deep-Vein Thrombosis

In February 2003, more than 60 organizations assembled at the Public Health Leadership Conference on Deep-Vein Thrombosis in Washington, D.C. to discuss the urgent need to make DVT a major U.S. public health priority. As a result of this meeting, which was co-hosted by the American Public Health Association (APHA) and Centers for disease control and Prevention (CDC) and funded by sanofi-aventis, participants agreed to establish a Coalition of organizations committed to educating the public and healthcare community about DVT.

In August 2003, national thought leaders and representatives from key organizations, including the American College of Chest Physicians, the American Public Health Association and the Society of Hospital Medicine met to set and guide the direction of the Coalition to Prevent DVT. A key outcome of this meeting was the decision to sponsor DVT Awareness Month, a campaign to bring DVT into the public eye on a national and local level. The inaugural DVT Awareness Month took place in March 2004.

To date, more than 50 organizations have joined the Coalition to Prevent DVT in a united effort to raise awareness of this serious medical condition among consumers, healthcare professionals, policy-makers and public health leaders.