With an annual incidence of 1-2 per 1,000 individuals, venous thromboembolism (VTE) is the third leading vascular diagnosis after heart attack and stroke [1,2]. VTE encompasses two interrelated conditions that are part of the same spectrum, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) [3]. The higher incidence of both conditions among elderly and frail patients with a non-negligible rate of fatal and disabling chronic complications made VTE a major public health problem worldwide [1,4–7].
