Thromboembolic disease is caracterized, especially, by clots formation in deep venous system of legs and their migration in the pulmonary arteries.
There are many causes of clots formation, wich are included in three categories:
- blood stagnation in legs ( because of insuficiency of venous circulatory system, after surgical procedures associated with prolonged bed repose, but also in case of prolonged travels – including plane, car)
- affecting of vein’s walls – veins of legs or pelvic veins ( this condition may be associated with pregnancy and birth)
- hypercoagulable state ( tendency of blood to form clots) – there are some genetic disorders, such as: factor V Leyden mutation, prothrombin gene mutation, low activity of some proteins wich are natural inhibitors of clots formation. This condition can be also acquired – in pregnancy, in case of use of oral contraceptives drugs, especially associated with smoking, but also in neoplastic diseases.
When clots are formed in veins of legs you feel observe leg’s swelling (because the blood’s stagnation), pain in rest but also associated with movements, local warmth and, in some severe cases, the arterial circulation of legs may be afected and this is leading to ischemic lesions of legs. Clots can migrate through venous system reaching right heart chambers and from this point, clots they can migrate in pulmonary arteries, condition know as pulmonary embolism. Because of the clots, blood can’t pass from pulmonary arteries in capillary vessels, pulmonary veins and forward in left heart, so there will be a low cardiac debit, wich can be life threatening.
Thromboembolic disease can evoluate without any symptom and can lead to sudden death. We all know about people who have traveled with plane long distances, for 10-12 hours and after they have died because of pulmonary embolism.
Pulmonary embolism treatment is deppending of disease’s severity. So, some patients ( whit low blood pressure secondary to low cardiac debit) may beneffit by thrombolitic treatment or surgical remove of clots from pulmonary arteries. Anyway, most of patients diagnosed with pulmmonary embolism are eligible for anticoagulant treatment, wich helps the body to disolve clots – this is a long process ( weeks – months).