The vital organs of the human body, like the brain, heart and lungs can not function properly when the oxygen supply is inhibited. In the brain, causing embolic stroke. While in the lungs, causing a pulmonary embolism embolism. Not only are impaired organ function, but lack of oxygen for too long can make the organ tissue is permanently damaged.
Symptoms of embolism
Here are some of the symptoms that can occur as a result of pulmonary embolism:
- Hard to breathe
- Chest pain worse when breathing and coughing
- Coughing, can bleed
- excessive sweating
- Dizzy
- Rapid heartbeat
- If emboli block blood flow to the brain, there will be symptoms of a stroke.
Causes of Embolism
Embolism, or obstruction to the blood supply to the tissues and organs of the body, can be many things, among others:
- Fat. Bones that have cracks can lead to the release of particles of fat in the bones into the bloodstream. In addition, fat can also enter the bloodstream in case of complications after surgery due to a bone or severe burns.
- Blood clots. To prevent excessive bleeding when injury occurs, blood will agglomerate naturally. But some conditions, such as heart disease, obesity, cancer, and pregnancy can cause the blood to clot more easily even though no injury occurs. One of the main causes of pulmonary emboli is blood clots in the veins in the legs are then separated and headed into the lungs.
- Amniotic fluid. This is the fluid that surrounds and protects the baby in the womb. Although this condition is very rare, the amniotic fluid can enter the blood vessels of the mother during childbirth and cause blockages.
- Cholesterol. Atherosclerosis is the narrowing of the arteries caused by cholesterol accumulation. If the condition occurs quite severe, the fraction of cholesterol can come loose and cause embolism or obstruction to blood flow.
- Air. Air or gas bubbles can enter the bloodstream. This condition is the leading cause of death among divers. A diver rises to the surface quickly will experience drastic changes in pressure. This could lead to the emergence of nitrogen bubbles in the blood stream. This condition causes the emergence of decompression sickness.
In addition to some of the causes of the above, there are also several conditions that could increase the risk of someone having embolism, namely:
- Is pregnant.
- Are overweight or obese.
- Smoke.
- Suffering from heart disease.
- Aged over 60 years.
- Not moving or active in the long term.
Treatment is carried out under conditions embolism relies heavily on the cause of the blockage, the size of the blockage that appears, and the location of the blockage.
Medications may be given to dissolve blood clots that appears. This treatment known as thrombolysis using anticoagulant drugs. A drug normally used is warfarin, heparin and low-dose aspirin. These medications can prevent further blood clot and the blood becomes less viscous.
Embolectomy is a surgical procedure that can be done to remove the blockage formed. Blood vessel blockage will be dissected and blockage that there will be aspirated.
Especially in cases of embolism that occurs because of air bubbles, the patient will be put into a hyperbaric room. The air pressure inside a hyperbaric room is higher than the air pressure outside the room. In this way, the size of air bubbles in the diver's body will be reduced.
Preventing embolism
Here are some ways you can do to reduce the risk of embolism.
- Lose weight. If you experience excess weight, do regular exercise and do a low calorie diet to achieve a healthy weight.
- Quit smoking.
- Healthy eating. Started to get used to eating foods rich in fiber, low in fat, low in salt.
- Exercising. Do exercise at least two and a half hours a week to keep the body active and the blood flow smoothly.
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