Pulmonary embolism is a serious illness and should be treated as soon as possible in the hospital, so as not to be life-threatening. If symptoms appear and a pulmonary embolism is suspected, such as a sudden feeling of shortness of breath, severe coughing or severe chest pain, it is advisable to go to the emergency room to assess the situation and start treatment if necessary. See other symptoms that may indicate pulmonary embolism.
In case of high suspicions of pulmonary embolism, treatment may be initiated even before the diagnosis is confirmed and is usually done by oxygen and injection of an anticoagulant directly into the vein, a drug that helps prevent the clot. increase in size or new clots can form, making the condition worse.
- If diagnostic tests.
- Such as chest x-rays or pulmonary angiography.
- Confirm the diagnosis of embolism.
- The person should be hospitalized to continue treatment for more days with blood thinners and thrombolytics.
- Which are another type of medication that helps dissolve existing clots.
Surgery to treat pulmonary embolism is usually done when the use of anticoagulants and thrombolytics is not enough to improve symptoms and dissolve the clot that prevents blood from passing into the lungs.
In such cases, surgery is required in which your doctor inserts a thin, flexible tube, called a catheter, through an artery in your arm or leg until it reaches the clot in your lung and removes it.
A catheter may also be used to place a filter in the main vein, called inferior vena cava, to prevent clots from moving through the bloodstream to the lungs. This filter is usually placed in people who cannot take blood thinners.
After removing the pulmonary clot, it is usually necessary to be hospitalized to make sure that no new clots appear and to check that oxygen levels in the body are normalized.
When the condition appears stabilized, the doctor releases, but generally also prescribes, anticoagulant drugs, such as warfarin or heparin, which should continue to be used daily at home, as they keep the blood liquid and reduce the risk of recurrence. a new clot. Learn more about blood thinners and the precautions you should take during treatment.
In addition to these, your doctor may also order pain relievers to relieve chest pain in the first few days and after treatment.
Because pulmonary embolism prevents blood from passing into the lung, the first side effect is related to a decrease in gas exchanges and, as a result, less oxygen is available in the blood. When this happens, there is an overload of the heart, which makes it work much faster to try to get the same amount of oxygen to the whole body.
Embolism usually occurs in a small area of the lung, so the person does not suffer serious consequences. However, although rare, obstruction can also occur in a larger blood vessel, which is responsible for the irrigation of a larger part of the lung, in which case the consequences may be more severe because the tissue that does not receive oxygenated blood retracts and there is no gas exchange in this part of the lung. As a result, the person may suffer a sudden death, which occurs suddenly, or may have lung damage, such as pulmonary hypertension.
Improvement of symptoms appears a few minutes after emergency treatment with relief from shortness of breath and decreased chest pain.
Signs of worsening are increased breathing difficulties and eventually fainting due to decreased oxygen in the body. If treatment is not implemented quickly, serious consequences, such as cardiac arrest, can be life-threatening.