What is Pulmonary Embolism? Symptoms and Treatment

Pulmonary embolism is a blood clot that occurs especially in the leg veins and reaches the lungs. Rapid and early diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary embolism, which is a serious disease, reduces the risk of life. You can find the answers to your questions such as what pulmonary embolism means, what are the causes of pulmonary embolism and how pulmonary embolism is treated, in the rest of the article.

What is Pulmonary Embolism?

In a healthy person, blood circulation occurs through two main circulatory systems: small and large blood circulation. While the oxygen-poor blood collected from the body with the small (pulmonary) blood circulation is sent from the heart to the lungs, the large circulation ensures that the oxygen-rich blood is sent from the lungs to the whole body.

Blood is carried throughout the body through veins. Various factors can cause blood to clot within the vein. The resulting clot is carried to different tissues or organs within the body, causing vascular occlusion. This condition is called embolism.

The formation of a blood clot in one of the arteries carrying blood from the heart to the lungs and the sudden blockage of the vessel is called pulmonary (lung) embolism. A clot in the veins that reaches the lungs can prevent blood from passing to the lungs, causing oxygen-free blood circulation in the body. Being deprived of oxygen for a long time can disrupt the functioning of many organs such as the brain, kidneys, heart and stomach.

Pulmonary embolism, or in other words, a clot in the lungs, is a disease that requires rapid treatment. One third of progressive and untreated pulmonary embolism cases result in death. However, pulmonary embolism can be treated with early diagnosis and rapid intervention.

What are the Symptoms of Pulmonary Embolism?

Symptoms of pulmonary embolism, also known as lung clot, vary depending on the size of the clot, the location where it occurs, and the presence of chronic diseases such as heart, blood pressure, asthma, and diabetes. In cases of mild embolism, the patient has no symptoms, but serious symptoms begin to appear in pulmonary embolisms caused by large clots. In some patients, embolism may develop suddenly and more severe symptoms may occur. Some of the common symptoms of pulmonary embolism include:

• The most common symptom of pulmonary embolism is shortness of breath. Shortness of breath may have a sudden onset or develop gradually with exertion.
• Chest pain radiates to the arm, jaw, neck and shoulder. It may increase while eating, bending over, being motionless, or sudden movements. This pain does not decrease or go away with rest.
• Cough
• Coughing with blood (hemoptysis)
• Increased breathing rate
• Palpitations, rapid or weak heartbeat
• Weakness, fatigue
• feeling of fainting
• excessive sweating
• Swelling, redness and pain in the leg
• Anxiety, restlessness, fear of death
• back pain
• dizziness
• Color changes on the face and fingers
• Blue lips and nails

What Causes Pulmonary Embolism?

Pulmonary embolism occurs due to a clot reaching an artery in the lung. Clots that cause pulmonary embolism usually come from the leg veins. This is called deep vein thrombosis (DVT). This condition may occur for different reasons other than deep vein thrombosis. The causes of pulmonary embolism can be listed as follows:

Traumas: Bone fractures and muscle tears that occur in traumatic injuries such as traffic, sports and work accidents can cause blood clots.

Some medical conditions and treatments: Cardiovascular diseases, especially heart failure, can cause clots to form. In addition, chemotherapy drugs and surgical methods used for cancer treatment may cause clot formation. Many types of cancer, especially ovarian and lung cancer, increase the risk of pulmonary embolism by increasing the number of platelets that enable blood clotting.

Catheter: Permanent catheters applied to the vascular access for long-term treatments are the main causes of clots, especially in the arms.

Surgeries

Medicines

Congenital Blood Diseases

Long Term Diseases

What are the Risk Factors for Pulmonary Embolism?

Some risk factors can increase the risk of clots in the lung:

• Inactivity: Bed rest, long journeys, staying in the same position or motionless for a long time, slow down the blood flow, especially in the lower parts of the body, due to the effect of gravity. This may cause easy clotting.
• Smoking: Smoking triggers many diseases and can lead to blood clot formation.
• Obesity: Excess weight can trigger blood clot formation.
• Pregnancy: The increasing weight of the mother and the weight of the baby puts pressure on the veins in the mother’s pelvis. This pressure can slow blood flow in the legs, causing blood clots to form.
• Hormone therapy: Medications containing estrogen and testosterone increase the risk of clots in the lungs.
• Family history: The risk of developing pulmonary embolism is higher for those with a history of pulmonary embolism in their first-degree relatives and those with clotting problems.
• Advanced age: The decrease in the number of platelets that enable clotting in older ages and the eroding and narrowing of the vascular structure over time facilitate the development of pulmonary embolism.

How is Pulmonary Embolism Diagnosed?

Symptoms of pulmonary embolism do not have the same severity in all cases. While some patients do not have obvious complaints, the complaints seen in some patients may resemble different heart-lung problems. In these cases, it becomes difficult to diagnose the patient.

When you visit your doctor about your symptoms, the physician will ask detailed questions about your general health and any pre-existing conditions. Some additional imaging and laboratory tests may be needed as a result of the physical examination and family history performed by your specialist physician. A diagnosis of pulmonary (lung) embolism is made based on physical examination evaluations and test results.

How is Pulmonary Embolism Treated?

Treatment of pulmonary embolism is determined according to the patient’s medical history, the clinical picture of the disease and the severity of the patient’s complaints. For patients with mild symptoms and low risk groups, medication alone may be sufficient. However, in larger clotting cases that do not respond to drug treatment, surgical treatments can be applied. Rapid intervention is very important in pulmonary embolism.

Anticoagulant (clot preventing) treatment: Anticoagulant drugs such as heparin and warfarin, popularly known as blood thinners, can be used in patients with good clinical condition. These medications prevent the formation of blood clots. The treatment dose is given for the first 5 days, and then it is continued for 3-6 months at the appropriate protective dose determined according to the patient’s condition.

Thrombolytic (clot dissolving) treatment: The drugs used in thrombolytic treatment accelerate the breakdown of clots in the arteries. However, these medications have a high risk of bleeding. For this reason, it is generally preferred in emergency and critical cases.

Vena cava inferior (vein) filter: Drug treatment is not applied in some patients with a high risk of bleeding. In some patients, clot formation may occur again after drug treatment. In such cases, Vena cava inferior filter can be applied. The inferior vena cava is the main vein where blood from the legs collects. A filter is placed in this vein through a small incision in the leg. This filter prevents clots that may form in the legs from going to the lungs.

Open surgery: In emergency cases where there is no response to medication and alternative treatments and the patient is at risk of life, the clogged lung vessel can be cleared of clots by open surgical methods.

How to Prevent Pulmonary Embolism?

1. Maintain your ideal body weight.
2. Exercise regularly.
3. Take frequent breaks on long-term trips.
4. Drink plenty of fluids to prevent blood clots.
5. Do not smoke.
6. Use hormone medications under physician supervision.
7. Use compression socks when you need to stand for long periods of time or take bed rest.

Pulmonary embolism is a serious disease that requires urgent treatment and can result in loss of life if left untreated. If you show symptoms of the disease or suspect the disease, be sure to consult your doctor.