Pulmonary embolism is the result of a vein thrombosis, a blood clot in any part of the body, or both. This phenomenon is noticed mostly in the legs, but can also occur in the arms and in the abdominal region. This is generally a blood clot in the lungs.
Causes of Pulmonary Embolism
There are many risks and causes related to pulmonary embolism. The first cause is immobilization. When a person is confined to bed for a long time due to injury of the arms or legs, it can result in a blood clot occurring in the limbs. There are also other factors similar to that of immobilization such as travelling for long periods in cars or on planes and without movement. Some kinds of surgery increase the risk of this phenomenon. Obesity has many side effects and this is among them. If a person has irregular heartbeats, then they are prone to pulmonary embolisms. If the person has had a history of blood clots in the legs, it is likely to reoccur. In women, pregnancies cause pulmonary embolism and even cancer. There are also certain proteins which can prevent pulmonary embolism. A deficiency in these proteins and nutrients will lead to the opposite.
Symptoms of Pulmonary Embolism
This phenomenon is present with abrupt pains in the chest and breathing problems. The pain usually increases when the affected tries to take deep breaths. These pains are known as pleurisy. In some cases, there may be coughing during which the affected may cough up blood.
The patient may be in a normal condition in which aspects such as blood pressure, breathing rate, heart rate and others are stable. However, pulmonary embolism can strike unexpectedly and with extremely low blood pressure or even cardiac arrest. This happens because of the clot, which blocks blood from flowing out. Blood pressure and heart rate will vary depending on the amount of clotting that has occurred. These two phenomena increase in this case. In some fatal cases, the pulmonary embolism attack will cause the death of the person: they can experience cardiac arrest, which is a result of the collapsing of the patient, breathing stops and the heart stops beating.
Treatment for Pulmonary Embolism
According to many doctors, the best treatment for pulmonary embolism is prevention. Everyone should try and prevent the problems of deep vein thrombosis through which they can prevent the fatal results of the pulmonary embolism. Patients with unstable phenomena will be admitted to the hospital immediately.
Treatment with anti-coagulation is the first step. There are two steps in this process. Warfarin is the medicine used to prevent or remove the coagulation of blood in the body. This medicine is taken orally and it takes a week or more for thinning of blood to occur. Another medicine, which is given for the same condition, is enoxaparin. This is given in the form of injections and follows a different mechanism to thin blood.
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Dr. James S. Pendergraft opened the Orlando Women's Center in March 1996 to provide a full range of health care for women.
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