Pulmonary embolism (patient information)

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Editors-in-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D.; Associate Editors-in-Chief: Ujjwal Rastogi, MBBS [1]

Synonyms and keywords: PE

What is Pulmonary embolism?

Pulmonary embolism is a condition in which a blood clot blocks one or many arteries of the lung. Blood clot are most commonly formed in legs and then travel to lungs.

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What are the symptoms of Pulmonary embolism?

Sign and Symptom vary from person to person. The common symptoms are

• Shortness of breath or Rapid breathing
• Chest pain which comes up on deep breathing and is knife-like or sharp.
• Coughing up blood

Who is at highest risk?

There is increased risk of PE in many conditions which are

• Thrombophilia is a condition in which blood has an increased tendency to clot. Thrombophilia can be Inherited or Acquired. Acquired Thrombophilia occurs in association with other medical conditions like Polycythimia vera or Antiphospholipid Antibody

• There are many other condition that increases the risk of PE
  • Pregnancy
  • Obesity
  • Smoking
  • Cancer
  • Heart failure
  • Previous PE
  • Medications like OCP,tamoxifen,Hormone Replacement Therapy

When to seek urgent medical care

Pulmonary embolism can be potentially life threatening and one should seek medical care when suffering from symptoms of Pulmonary embolism. Severe sharp chest pain, shortness of breath, blood in sputum, raised heart rate may be ominous signs.

Treatment options

The cause of Pulmonary embolism must be identified, if possible, for this the physician may decide to do the following:

• Chest CT scan
• Angiography
• V/Q Scan
• Echocardiogram

Medications to treat Pulmonary embolism may include:

• Anticoagulants to prevent clot formation.
• Thrombolytic that remove the already formed clot.
• Inferior Vena Cava Filters that prevent the clot, formed in legs, to reach the lungs.
• Embolectomy which remove the clot which are already formed.

Where to find medical care for Pulmonary embolism

Directions to Hospitals Treating Pulmonary embolism

Possible complications

It’s a potential lethal condition if the main artery is blocked . If left untreated, about 30 percent of patients who have PE will die. Most of those who die do so within the first few hours of the event.

Sources

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/pe/pe_what.html

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/pulmonaryembolism.html