A situation in which a blood clot is lodged in an artery and obstructs blood flow. Anticoagulants are indicated. If of septic origin, microbials such as Echinacea would be added to combination.
Alternatives. Formula. Equal parts: Motherwort to open up blood vessels, Hawthorn to increase force of heart-beat, Broom to reduce risk of oedema.
Tea. 1 heaped teaspoon to each cup of water gently simmered 5 minutes. 1 cup freely.
Powders. Dose: 750mg (three 00 capsules or half a teaspoon). Liquid extracts: 1 teaspoon. Tinctures: 2 teaspoons. In water or honey 3-4 times daily.
Diet. See entry: DIET – HEART AND CIRCULATION.
Blockage of an artery by an embolus. Blood clots that have broken off from a larger clot located elsewhere in the circulation are the most common type of embolus. Pulmonary embolism is usually the result of a fragment breaking off from a deep vein thrombosis and being carried via the heart to block an artery supplying the lungs; this is a common cause of sudden death. Blood clots may form on the heart lining after a myocardial infarction, or in the atria in atrial fibrillation, and then travel to the brain, resulting in a cerebral embolism, which is an important cause of stroke. Air embolism, in which a small artery is blocked by an air bubble, is rare. Fat embolism, in which vessels are blocked by fat globules, is a possible complication of a major fracture of a limb.
Symptoms of an embolism depend on the site of the embolus. Pulmonary embolism can lead to breathlessness and chest pains. If the embolus lodges in the brain, a stroke may occur, affecting speech, vision, or movement. If an embolism blocks an artery to the leg, the limb will become painful and turn white or blue. Untreated, gangrene may develop. In serious cases of fat embolism, heart and breathing rates rise dramatically, and there is restlessness, confusion, and drowsiness.
Embolectomy (surgery to remove the blockage) may be possible. If surgery is not possible, thrombolytic and anticoagulant drugs may be given.
The plugging of a small blood vessel by an EMBOLUS which has been carried through the larger vessels by the bloodstream. It is due usually to fragments of a clot which has formed in some vessel, or to small portions carried o? from the edge of a heart-valve when this organ is diseased. However, the plug may also be a small mass of bacteria, or a fragment of a tumour, or even a mass of air bubbles sucked into the veins during operations on the neck. The result is usually more or less destruction of the organ or part of an organ supplied by the obstructed vessel. This is particularly the case in the BRAIN, where softening of the brain, with APHASIA or a STROKE, may be the result. If the plug is a fragment of malignant tumour, a new growth develops at the spot; if it is a mass of bacteria, an ABSCESS forms there. Air-embolism occasionally causes sudden death in the case of wounds in the neck, the air bubbles completely stopping the ?ow of blood. Fat-embolism is a condition which has been known to cause death
– masses of fat, in consequence of such an injury as a fractured bone, ?nding their way into the circulation and stopping the blood in its passage through the lungs. (See also PULMONARY EMBOLISM.)
A blockage of blood vessels either by blood clot, fat or air; see gas embolism.
n. the condition in which an embolus becomes lodged in an artery and obstructs its blood flow. The most common form of embolism is *pulmonary embolism, in which a blood clot is carried in the circulation to lodge in the pulmonary artery. An embolus in any other artery constitutes a systemic embolism. In this case a common source of the embolus is a blood clot within the heart in mitral valve disease or following *myocardial infarction. The clinical features depend upon the site at which an embolus lodges (for example, a stroke may result from a cerebral embolism and gangrene caused by a limb embolism). Treatment is by *anticoagulant therapy with heparin and warfarin. Major embolism is treated by *embolectomy or *thrombolysis to remove or dissolve the embolus. See also air embolism.
A bubble of air in a blood vessel that affects the ?ow of blood from the heart. Air may enter the circulation after injury, infusions into the venous circulation, or surgery. The victim suffers breathlessness, chest discomfort, and acute heart failure.... air embolism
The condition in which an embolus (see EMBOLISM), or clot, is lodged in the LUNGS. The source of the clot is usually the veins of the lower abdomen or legs, in which clot formation has occurred as a result of the occurrence of DEEP VEIN THROMBOSIS (DVT) – THROMBOPHLEBITIS (see VEINS, DISEASES OF). Thrombophlebitis, with or without pulmonary embolism, is a not uncommon complication of surgical operations, especially in older patients. This is one reason why nowadays such patients are got up out of bed as quickly as possible, or, alternatively, are encouraged to move and exercise their legs regularly in bed. Long periods of sitting, particularly when travelling, can cause DVT with the risk of pulmonary embolism. The severity of a pulmonary embolism, which is characterised by the sudden onset of pain in the chest, with or without the coughing up of blood, and a varying degree of SHOCK, depends upon the size of the clot. If large enough, it may prove immediately fatal; in other cases, immediate operation may be needed to remove the clot; whilst in less severe cases anticoagulant treatment, in the form of HEPARIN, is given to prevent extension of the clot. For some operations, such as hip-joint replacements, with a high risk of deep-vein thrombosis in the leg, heparin is given for several days postoperatively.... pulmonary embolism
A blockage of a blood vessel by air or gas, usually caused when a diver ascends too rapidly, when the air expands, causing rupture of the lung tissues which then allows the air into the blood stream. It often results in death due to air bubbles occluding the blood vessels supply the brain (cerebral gas embolism).... gas embolism
a condition in which amniotic fluid enters the maternal circulation causing a complex cascade similar to that seen in anaphylactic and septic *shock. It is a rare event (1 in 50,000–100,000 deliveries), with a 60–80% maternal mortality. The sudden onset of cardiopulmonary collapse, together with coma or seizures, in labour or shortly after delivery, should prompt the diagnosis. Most of the women who survive have permanent neurological damage.... amniotic fluid embolism
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