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Pulmonary Embolism Causes And Symptoms.
Experiencing a pulmonary embolism causes you to take a long hard look at your life and really take stock of what is important, because in truth it really can make you very, very poorly. In fact in some cases a pulmonary embolism can cause death. Mine didn't, but my goodness it made me ill. So what in fact is it? Well, a PE or a pulmonary embolism is a blood clot in your lung. On most occasions it will have started off in a small blood vessells in your arms, pelvis or legs, or even your heart. As it makes it's way through the different vessels of the lung, the vessels get smaller and tighter and eventually the clot gets stuck. Eventually since no blood can get to it and nourish it, the clot dies and this is called a pulmonary infarct. Incidentally you may also know that that if the clot is in the legs it is called DVT, Deep Vein Thrombosis. There are any number of pulmonary embolism causes. Certainly if someone has been immobile for a while then there is an elevated risk of clotting. Surgery or confinement to bed, bones that have been broken can all lead to situations where the body has to stay very still and so these can all be risk factors. Travelling for a long distance can also mean that the legs have to stay still and so the blood as restricted mobility. Many eople know about aeroplanes but even sitting in the car can cause difficulties. It is important to wriggle and rotate ankles and do some stretching exercises. Support or pressure stockings are a very good idea. A bang or knock or fall on the legs can also be an issue. Obesity puts an unnecessary pressure on your circulation and can be one of the more common pulmonary embolism causes. Heart disease can some times be a factor, especially of the patient has an irregular heartbeat. Burns, surprisingly too can be a problem because he blood obviously does need to clot to heal the skin. There are other conditions that increase clotting of the blood too. Anything that raises the oestrogen (Estrogen in USA!) so pregnancy, and also taking the contraceptive pill. Cancer can also cause pulmonary embolism symptoms. Patients over the age of 70 are also seen to be a slightly elevated risk category. There are also certain protein and enzyme deficiencies.
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