Tampa, FL -- (SBWire) -- 10/19/2015 --Health care providers and advocacy groups around the world marked the second annual World Thrombosis Day on October 13, 2015. The movement's mission is to increase global awareness of thrombosis and reduce death and disability cause by the disease.

Greg Grambor said the observance is important in his work. He is president of Vascular PRN, a distributor of pneumatic compression therapy devices, also called sequential compression therapy devices or SCD's. The machines provide alternating pressure on the legs of nursing home patients, post-operative hospital patients, and otherwise immobilized or bedridden people, thereby improving blood flow and lessening the incidence of deep vein thrombosis. DVT is a blood clot formed in a deep vein, usually in the legs. When such a clot becomes dislodged, it can pose a great danger, particularly if it subsequently becomes lodged in the brain or lungs.

"I'm very glad to see the observance of World Thrombosis Day continuing this year," Grambor remarked. "Expanding awareness is critical for fighting blood clots. People tend not to understand the severity of the risk and to assume that it cannot happen to them."

In conjunction with World Thrombosis Day, the National Blood Clot Alliance launched a new online support website for people affected by blood clots and clotting disorders called the Stop the Clot community. Community members can read others' stories, share their own, and interact with other members. Created as part of the NBCA's Women & Blood Clots program, the site focuses first on information for women, but is expected to expand.

A link to the site is available at www.stoptheclot.org

"This support community is a great idea," Grambor said. "I hope it becomes a hub of information and activity. The support that people can give each other in venues like this is invaluable."