pulmonary embolism symptoms

pulmonary embolism symptoms


 What exactly is pulmonary embolism?

MEDICINE BLOOD CIRCULATION PHLEBITE NEWS PULMONARY EMBOLISM
 What exactly is pulmonary embolism?

Since Saturday, the singer Michel Polnareff is hospitalized in a serious state, because of a bilateral pulmonary embolism. Like him, every year 100,000 people are victims of an embolism and one in 10 people dies. This disease is the third leading cause of vascular death after infarction and stroke. What are the causes and symptoms that need to alert?


Since Saturday, singer Michel Polnareff, 72, is hospitalized for a "bilateral pulmonary embolism that is prognostic", according to a medical certificate sent Monday by his press officer. Pulmonary embolism is a partial or complete obstruction of an artery of the lungs by a blood clot. Risk factors are multiple and the symptoms are most often sudden. Like the singer, about 10,000 people are embroiled each year.

Pulmonary embolism occurs when a blood clot blocks a pulmonary artery or one of its branches. Usually the clot is formed because of a phlebitis (most often in one leg, sometimes in one arm), then it detaches and travels through the venous circulation to the heart.

With each contraction, the heart propels the clot towards the pulmonary arteries, where it ends up being blocked. When the clot is small, it causes damage to the lungs. But if it is more important, it can prevent blood from circulating in the lungs and causing death.

WHAT SYMPTOMS SHOULD ALERT?

• Sudden shortness of breath, difficulty breathing

• Strong chest pain that gets worse when you try to breathe deeply

• slightly rosy sputum that you expect while coughing

• An acceleration of the heart rate

WHAT ARE THE PEOPLE AT RISK OF EMBOLISM?

The French Federation of Cardiology estimates the frequency of pulmonary embolism to 100,000 cases per year in France, including 10,000 to 20,000 deaths.

• All persons who must remain bedridden are at risk because the lying down position slows the blood circulation, making the formation of clots favorable.

• Some conditions such as heart failure, infectious diseases, or cancer can cause phlebitis, which can lead to a risk of embolism.

• Patients who have undergone surgery and especially an orthopedic, gynecological or obstetric intervention.

• Women on oral contraception, especially young women on 3rd or 4th generation pills.

• Smokers.

• Older people (over 70) and overweight.

HOW DO THE DIAGNOSIS?

If you have symptoms suggestive of pulmonary embolism (and especially if there are already risk factors), call Emergencies immediately (15 or 112). And while waiting for help, place the person in a sitting position by preventing him from moving to avoid a migration of the clot.

At the hospital, additional examinations will confirm the diagnosis:

- A blood test.

- An echocardiogram that assesses the severity of pulmonary embolism by verifying its impact on the right heart chambers (when the right ventricle malfunctions, there is a significant risk of death).

- A pulmonary scintigraphy that visualizes blood clots in the lungs.

- A venous doppler of the lower limbs is systematically performed, in search of phlebitis.

HOW TO TREAT A PULMONARY EMBOLISM?

Doctors treat pulmonary embolism with medications called anticoagulants that prevent the formation of new clots and prevent existing clots from developing. The treatment is first administered as subcutaneous injections. But after a few days, the bites are replaced by oral anticoagulants.

Among them are anti-vitamin K (AVK), which is the reference drug and, since 2012, direct oral anticoagulants (OAD): Dabigatran and Rivaroxaban.

Some patients will take this treatment for a few months. Others, considered at-risk, may need it for the rest of their lives.

Sources: French Federation of Cardiology

Ameli health

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