ACR Members Discuss New Treatment for Dangerous Blood Clots


Two ACR members are excited about research which shows that combining ultrasound therapy with clot-busting drugs can destroy potentially dangerous blood clots in the arms and legs. Moreover, the new therapy can do it “more safely and more frequently than standard treatments,” according to a January 23 United Press International report.

“The ultrasound energy actually changes the structure of the clot,” ACR member Thomas O. McNamara, chief of vascular and interventional radiology at the UCLA Medical Center said in the article. “This appears to be a better treatment for these potentially deadly clots.”

ACR member Keith M. Sterling, MD, chief of cardiovascular and interventional radiology at INOVA Alexandria Hospital in Virginia, also endorsed the new therapy in the article.

“High-frequency ultrasound enhances the ability of the drugs to break up these clots,” Sterling noted. “It really does speed up the process.”

Click here to read the full UPI story.