About 3% of patients with venous thromboembolism experience an arterial cardiovascular event (myocardial infarction, stroke, sudden otherwise unexplained death) in the 2-3 years after the first episode of venous thromboembolism10. The long-term use of oral anticoagulants could potentially prevent these adverse events. Barriers to the more widespread appropriate use of oral anticoagulants include physician concerns regarding the risk of bleeding, particularly in the elderly, as well as the need for close monitoring and regular blood tests to measure the INR. A simple, safe, effective, and widely applicable pharmacological approach is needed for the prevention of these events.