Professor Dr Paul A. Kyrle

Paul Kyrle made important contributions to the understanding of the natural course of venous thromboembolism. He heads one of the largest prospective studies worldwide designed to improve treatment strategies for patients with deep-vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism. He has identified important risk factors of recurrent venous thromboembolism including high coagulation factor levels, in particular high plasma levels of factor VIII, male gender, obesity and low HDL. He took patient stratification regarding recurrence risk and optimal duration of secondary thromboprophylaxis one step further by demonstrating that the risk of recurrent venous thrombosis can be estimated by the use of widely available and inexpensive global coagulation assays such as D-Dimer or in vitro thrombin generation. Paul Kyrle also participates in large clinical trials investigating new antithrombotic compounds, which most likely will replace conventional anticoagulants such as heparin and warfarin in the near future.