my grandpa has blood clots in his lungs. how long do they take to dissolve? chances of survival?

Question

I'm 2000 miles away and not getting much information. how long does it take for the drugs to work? what if the drugs don't work? how long will his condition be critical? what is recovery like? i'm so worried and have no information.

Answer 1

It is a serious condition, which unfortunately could end his life suddenly. Let's pray that this doesn't happen. He'll be placed on "blood thinners" to break up the clots...which can take from days to weeks. This is also a very dangerous time for him, as a clot could travel and lodge in a coronary artery on his heart, causing a heart attack, or it could travel and lodge in an artery in his brain causing a stroke. This is why I said it could end his life suddenly. His condition and recovery depends on how good a shape he's in, and how well the clots break up and dissolve. On the good side....many, many people have survived this. Sorry for being so blunt....but you wanted to know. I wish you and him the best of luck.

Answer 2

I'm sorry about your grandpa. Since you don't have a lot of information, I also don't have enough information to give you an answer! It all depends on how severe the blood clots are and what medications he's gotten. The good news is that they have made the diagnosis and he is getting treated for it. Here is an article with some more information:

http://www.emedicine.com/EMERG/topic490.htm

But the best thing to do in your grandpa's case is to talk to someone who knows exactly what is going on with him. Either your grandpa or whoever is making decisions for him can give permission for the nurses or doctors to talk to you on the phone, and then you can ask your questions and get meaningful answers.

I hope he gets better soon.

Answer 3

Sad your Grandfather is sick.Pulmonary embolus is a very serious condition,usually the result from a blood clot coming from the deep veins of the lower legs( DVT) deep vein thrombosis). A thrombus is a large clot,the embolus is a piece of that clot that breaks off,and travels to the heart and lungs.The treatment would include IV anticoagulants like Heparin infusions and other anticoagulant drugs .These patients are usually placed in the ICU (intensive care unit) to be constantly monitored and extensive lab and other diagnostic tests are done to monitor how well the treatments are working etc. The prognosis would depend on whatever underlying diseases your Grandfather has,like cardiovascular,recent surgeries,or problems with mobility,as not being able to walk or ambulate well,due to a old hip fracture,or a stroke.The goal would be to dissolve the" clot",and take daily anticoagulant by mouth,wear anti- embolism stockings(TED's elastic stockings) ,Elevation of his legs while asleep, sitting or resting to reduce tendency to retain fluid in the legs.Other causes are while on long car or airplane trips,where sitting for extra long periods,and lack of normal exercise etc. Take care. SW RNP