VTE Prevention Client Teaching Handout for the Postoperative Client: One-Page Example
4 min read VTE Prevention Client Teaching Handout for the Newly Postoperative Client
The CDC reports that 60,000–100,000 Americans die each year from venous thromboembolism (VTE) and resulting pulmonary embolism, and nurses play a key role in prevention. Create a one-page client teaching handout on prevention and early recognition of VTE in the newly postoperative client, using clear, concise language and CDC guidance for client materials. You may use Word, PowerPoint, Canva or similar tools and add facts, figures or pictures. Include at minimum these headings:
- Risk Factors
- Signs and Symptoms to Report to Your Nurse
- Actions Your Nurse Might Perform to Prevent the Development of a Clot
- References (APA 7th edition)
Short sentences, everyday words
Surgery, immobility, age, estrogen
Leg swelling, breathing trouble, chest pain
Walking, leg sleeves, blood thinners
Download the one-page handout (PDF)
Handout text
Original example for study purposes (about 340 words). Design your own handout in Word, Canva or PowerPoint; this shows the content and plain-language level.
Preventing Blood Clots After Surgery
After surgery, you have a higher chance of getting a blood clot in a deep vein, usually in the leg. This is called deep vein thrombosis (DVT). A piece of the clot can travel to the lungs. This is called a pulmonary embolism (PE) and can be deadly. Most clots can be prevented.
Risk Factors
- Having surgery or staying in the hospital
- Not moving for a long time (bed rest, long trips)
- Being older
- Being overweight
- A family history of blood clots
- Cancer now or in the past
- Being pregnant or just having a baby
- Birth control pills or hormone therapy with estrogen
- An injury, such as a broken bone
Signs and Symptoms to Report to Your Nurse
In your leg or arm (DVT): swelling; pain or tenderness; red or warm skin.
In your lungs (PE): trouble breathing; fast or uneven heartbeat; chest pain that is worse when you breathe deeply or cough; coughing up blood; feeling dizzy or fainting.
Trouble breathing or chest pain? Press your call light now. At home, call 911.
Actions Your Nurse Might Perform to Prevent a Clot
- Help you get out of bed and walk soon after surgery, several times a day
- Teach you leg exercises in bed: point and flex your feet and circle your ankles 10 times every hour while awake
- Put special sleeves on your legs that squeeze and relax to keep blood moving (compression devices)
- Give a blood thinner shot or pill, if your doctor orders it
- Encourage you to drink fluids, if allowed
- Check your legs and breathing and ask how you feel
What You Can Do
- Walk as soon and as often as your care team says it is safe
- Keep the leg sleeves on when you are in bed
- Take blood thinners exactly as prescribed, even at home
- Do not cross your legs or sit still for long periods
- Tell your nurse if you had a blood clot before
- Keep watching for signs for several weeks after you go home
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, May 15). Know the risks, signs & symptoms of blood clots. https://www.cdc.gov/blood-clots/toolkit/know-the-risks.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025, January 27). Data and statistics on venous thromboembolism. https://www.cdc.gov/blood-clots/data-research/facts-stats/index.html
Tip: keep client handouts at about a 6th- to 8th-grade reading level, use short bullet points and active voice and put the most urgent action (when to call for help) where the eye lands first.
Frequently asked questions
How many people does VTE affect each year?
The CDC estimates that up to 900,000 people in the U.S. are affected each year and 60,000 to 100,000 die.
Why are surgical patients at higher risk?
Surgery, reduced mobility and hospitalization slow blood flow and activate clotting. More than a third of VTE cases are linked to a recent hospital stay, often after discharge.
What should a VTE handout include?
Risk factors, warning signs of DVT and PE, when to call for help, prevention actions by the nurse and the patient and credible sources.
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