question about pulmonary embolism?

Question

okay i was wondering. how successful are the treatments for PE. i cant seem to find it anywhere

also what are the life time effects of this disease and is it genetic.

Answer 1

There are two types of pulmonary emboli. Both can be fatal. There is the blood clot. Treatment for this type of PE is quite simple. However it is very important to have it diagnosed and treated. The sooner the better. I am talking hours not days. Depending on the person and if they have prior lung damage, they will give someone with this type of PE an anticoagulant or a blood thinner. Then there is the fatty emboli, of the two this is the more dangerous.

Good Luck

Answer 2

Hi,

PE can be fatal, but, depending on the cause, and the kind of the PE (blood clot verse fatty emboli), they can....SOMETIMES use blood thinners.

Before using blood thinners, they have to run blood work to make sure that the clotting factors are able to support it. There are 3 parts to making blood clot....(sorry, not going to get into that now).

I know SEVERAL people who have had PE's.....many are alive and well today.....my ambulance partner died---he got a PE from a blood clot after breaking his ankle and being in a cast. he was a smoker---which is a risk factor.

Several things are risk factors---

recent injuries---casts particularly
recent surgeries---being bed ridden or less mobile
recent pregnancy
recent child birth
autoimmune deficiency---this is what my cousin had
atrial fibrillation
smoking
taking hormone replacement therapy
taking ANY form of hormonal birth control---this includes:shot, patch, rod, pill, ring, IUD (not the copper one), and any other form they come out with that contains hormones. I had a few patients that had this---smoking INCREASES the risk, but, there is a risk even without it---one was 22 years old.

sometimes, they can do catheterization therapy or ablation to remove the emboli as well.

Answer 3

for the most part, there is no actual treatment for PE. There is only supportive care. If the emobolism is small, it will be quickly reabsorbed, it it is large, it will likely be fatal.