It's been two weeks i lost a dear friend. She was so beautiful, young and lively.Had a very bright future ahead of her. She boarded a 6 hour flight and about 30 minutes after she arrived her destination, she complained of a headache and slumped. She was confirmed dead on arrival at the hospital. We were all shocked and an autopsy result revealed pulmonary embolism to be the culprit. In my eye, my friend was a healthy human being, her death made me investigate pulmonary embolism much further.
Now let's take a closer look at pulmonary embolism;
This is the blockage of an artery in the lungs by a substance that has travelled from elsewhere(commonly the arm or leg) in the body through the bloodstream to the lungs. This blockage stops blood from flowing into a part of the lungs.
Rarely,pulmonary embolism can result from an embolous
that is formed from fat droplets, amniotic fluid, or some other particle that enters the blood stream.
Pulmonary embolism is a very serious condition and sometimes can go unnoticed and not show any symptoms until the damage is done(resulting in death like in the case of my friend).
However, if symptoms are noticed, prompt treatment greatly reduces the risk of death.Taking measures to prevent blood clots in your legs will help protect you against pulmonary embolism.
Some common symptoms of pulmonary embolism include:
- Fever, excessive sweating
- Irregular heartbeats
- Shortness of breath (which is very sudden)
- Chest pain which gets worse when you breath deeply or cough and won't go away when you rest
- Cough that produces blood streaked substances
- Leg swelling, usually in the calf and so on.
Note that not every pulmonary embolism patient experience these symptoms, some may do and just mistake the symptoms to be stress . Please visit your doctor anytime you notice any of the above symptoms and always go for your routine medical check up.
Do you think i have Pulmonary Embolism?
Anyone can develop pulmonary embolism. However, there are certain factors that would make one more vulnerable. Heart diseases, certain cancers with metastasis and surgery
greatly increase your risk of blood clot. Anyone in any of the above categories is given medication to prevent blood clot.
Other risk factor include smoking(when combined with other risk factors increase your chance of pulmonary embolism), obesity and even pregnancy.
Pulmonary embolism can be hereditary. If someone in your family has previously suffered or died from it, this puts you at risk.The risk of pulmonary embolism increases with age.
Children however have very low chances of developing pulmonary embolism except the child has one of the serious underlying factors stated above.
Pulmonary embolism can also lead to Pulmonary hypertension(a condition in which the blood pressure in your lungs and in the right side of the heart is too high).
How do i reduce my risks?
The easiest way for an average person who has low risk factor is to maintain a healthy diet, exercise regularly and do not smoke. Taking lots of water is also important.
For those who have high risk factors, anticoagulant drugs(blood thinners) are usually given.Compression of the legs, leg elevation and lots of physical activity are also a great ways to reduce your risks.
While travelling or doing any activity that may require you not to move around for a long period of time, make a conscious effort to take a break from sitting by moving around every other hour, flex your ankles every 30 minutes, and wear support stockings.
Pulmonary embolism can be treated by giving anticoagulant medications(usually given to help thin the blood) such as heparin or warfarin.Clot busting drugs called thrombolitics may also be administered. Treatment for pulmonary embolism aim to:
- Stop the clot from growing
- Prevent new clots from forming
- Destroy any existing clots.
Conclusion
Pulmonary embolism is a common and potentially lethal condition. Most patients who succumb to it do so within the first few hours of the crisis. Most times, there's usually a delay in the diagnosis; so please make sure you take your routine check up seriously and visit the doctor anytime you notice anything strange. Don't just conclude it to be stress.
No one knows if my friend had symptoms and ignored it, or probably had no symptom at all. Am sure she'll still be alive if she had gone for regular check up.
Thanks for reading
Please share your thoughts or previous experience with Pulmonary embolism in the comment section.
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