Pulmonary Embolism (PE) is a clinical condition where a blood clot occurs in the veins of the legs or arms and travels to the lungs and blocks blood flow to the artery in lungs. It is a severe medical condition that continuously challenges clinicians around the globe. In this article we will walk you through causes, symptoms, associated risk factors and available therapies of PE.
What causes PE?
There may be many reasons why blood clots form and block blood flow into the arteries in the lungs, resulting in PE. Here, some of the general causes are discussed.
- Long-term physical inactivity, such as bed rest after complex surgical procedures, may produce blood clot formation. Blood clots in the leg may also form due to long-term sitting during long flights or car journeys. Physical inactivity reduces blood transportation to the leg tissues and enhances the risk of PE.
- Trauma conditions such as injury in hip or pelvis, deep fractures in bones and major surgery also enhance the risk of blood clotting resulting in PE.
- Abnormal levels of blood clotting factors observed in cancer and hormonal therapy patients. Furthermore, females taking contraceptive pills may also have irregular levels of blood clotting factors. Irreversible changes in the blood clotting factors may lead to blood clotting which augments the chances of PE.
Apart from these, cancer, obesity, blood clotting disorder, smoking and medical history of heart attack are some general risk factors that may enhance the odds of PE.
What are the symptoms of PE?
Shortness of breath and chest pain are main symptoms of PE. If you feel severe chest pain while taking a deep breath or exhaling it is recommended to seek medical interventions immediately. Apart from these rapid heart rate, excessive sweating, cough with or without mucus containing blood, pale and blueish skin are some other symptoms of PE.
How to diagnose PE?
The D-dimer test, echocardiogram, VQ scan, pulmonary angiogram, chest X-ray, computed tomography angiograms and ultrasound are some tests used to detect PE.
What are available treatments for PE?
Medications and procedures are the major treatment strategies that are used by healthcare professionals to manage PE.
Medications available for treating PE can be divided into two classes 1) anticoagulants and 2) thrombolytics.
- Anticoagulants, also known as blood thinners, prevent larger blood clot formation and reduce the chances of new clot formation. Depending upon the medical condition, they may be administered orally, by injection, or by intravenous route. In general, anticoagulants are made up of heparins, which prevent blood clotting by inactivating thrombin, a protein that plays an important role in coagulation.
- Thrombolytics are utilized to dissolve larger blood clots. These medications are recommended to treat life-threatening conditions of PE. Their administration may cause severe side effects like sudden bleeding, so they are prescribed in critical health conditions. One life-saving medication, U-Frag 5000IU Injection, constituting urokinase, is classified as a thrombolytic medicine. It stimulates plasmin enzyme formation that leads to disruption of clotting proteins like fibrin and fibrinogen. The concentration of urokinase must be decided by the doctor after observing the health conditions of the patient.
Procedures are performed in the healthcare setting under the supervision of doctors to remove blood clots using biomedical tools. For example, in the catheter-assisted thrombus removal procedure, a flexible tube is applied to reach the blood clot in the lungs. On the other hand, a vena cava filter is employed in patients who can not have blood thinners due to certain pathophysiological conditions. It grabs blood clots before they reach the lungs and avoids the risk of PE. It is important to mention that these procedures do not prevent new blood clot formation.
