Pulmonary thrombosis is a disease frequently observed in the emergency services of any hospital, it is caused by a clot that blocks the pulmonary blood vessels. It is not an easily diagnosed entity, so it is important to suspect it by knowing: risk factors, such as previous diseases, recent surgeries, pregnancy, childbirth or prolonged trips, among others, laboratory tests such as the D-dimer and techniques imaging, such as CT angiography of the lungs.
In the following FastlyHealarticle, we will explain in detail what the possible sequelae of a pulmonary thrombosis may be.
Table of Contents
Pulmonary thrombosis: symptoms
Pulmonary thrombosis can present in a number of ways, although the main sign is shortness of breath. Some patients may experience other symptoms such as:
- Pleuritic pain, this is chest pain due to irritation of the pleura, which is the layer that surrounds the lungs, appears in up to 50% of patients.
- Pain in the center of the chest, which could be confused with pain caused by a heart attack.
- Cough, it is usually without phlegm, although if there is phlegm, they have blood.
- Syncope due to circulatory failure appears in 10% of patients.
- Tachycardia (very fast heart beat) and tachypnea (very fast breathing).
Whenever these signs are found and it is known that the pulmonary thrombosis picture was installed suddenly, the lower extremities are explored in search of the cause of the clot, deep vein thrombosis may be found , which is the formation of a clot or several clots very large that block venous circulation in one of the legs.
Treatment of pulmonary thrombosis
The treatment of pulmonary thrombosis focuses on preventing some other clot from covering a vessel and also avoiding the consequences of current pulmonary thrombosis. The preventive treatment of pulmonary thrombosis is done with anticoagulants , initially heparin administered intravenously is indicated, then other possible treatments to follow should be determined, such as:
- Thrombolytic treatment : this treatment of pulmonary thrombosis seeks to undo the clot formed so that it does not continue to detach and block blood vessels.
- Percutaneous or surgical embolectomy : this treatment of pulmonary thrombosis removes the entire clot from the vein where it has formed, it can be percutaneous, that is through a small incision in the area of the clot, or surgical, in which a open surgery.
Possible sequelae of pulmonary thrombosis
Among the sequelae that can occur after having pulmonary thrombosis are the following:
- Treatment complications: the main complication of pulmonary thrombosis treatment is bleeding , since the treatment is carried out with anticoagulants, so any wound can take a long time to heal and hematomas (bruises) can arise with minor blows.
- Recurrent pulmonary thrombosis , approximately 30% of patients who have suffered pulmonary thrombosis suffer it again at some point in their life, especially because the underlying disease that caused the pulmonary thrombosis may not have been cured. A new pulmonary thrombosis event is more life threatening than the previous one.
- Post-thrombotic syndrome: it occurs in up to 30% of patients up to 5 years after having pulmonary thrombosis. This syndrome occurs in stages, at first, you can see inflammation due to the accumulation of fluid in an ankle and redness of the skin in that area, later, the inflammation becomes hard and can be colored in a reddish tone or darker than the rest of the skin, white depressions are made with small red spots and, finally, ulcers appear in those depressed areas that are parts of the ankle or leg that do not have skin and can expand or become infected if they are not treated.
- Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension : this is the sequel to pulmonary thrombosis that can appear later. In this sequel, the clots that initially blocked the blood vessels and that could not be eliminated with the treatment, harden and permanently block that blood vessel.
It is very important that a patient who has already suffered from pulmonary thrombosis visits his doctor regularly to stay as healthy as possible and avoid the appearance of any sequelae, or if a sequela has already appeared, it can be treated in a way early to avoid further complications.
This article is merely informative, at FastlyHeal .com we do not have the power to prescribe medical treatments or make any type of diagnosis. We invite you to see a doctor in the case of presenting any type of condition or discomfort.
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I am a Surgeon with a diploma in comprehensive ultrasound and surgical care residency, an area I am specializing in. During the exercise of my profession, I have realized the need for patients to know the diseases they suffer, and I can tell you that a large part of their complications is due to a lack of information. Being a health web writer allows me to transmit my experience, without borders, to all those readers eager for knowledge, educate them in the prevention of diseases and promote a healthy lifestyle.