Pulmonary embolism: who is at extra risk?

Pulmonary embolism – in medical terms venous thrombosis – is in the top three most deadly cardiovascular diseases. Only from a heart attack or stroke more people die. It is also more common than many people think: about 10,000 to 12,000 people are affected by it every year. Some people are more at risk than others.

What is thrombosis?

Eleven people get a thrombosis every hour, for example in a leg, lungs, heart or brain. One in four people dies from its direct or indirect consequences; that’s as many as forty people a day. So serious numbers. In thrombosis, a blood vessel becomes blocked by a blood clot. This is dangerous because it impedes or blocks blood flow. A blood clot in a vein is called a venous or deep vein thrombosis (DVT), such as a leg thrombosis or pulmonary embolism. A clot in an artery is called an arterial thrombosis. The latter can cause a heart attack or stroke.

Who is at risk for a pulmonary embolism?

Who is at extra risk of a pulmonary embolism? Simply put: anyone who is at risk of a thrombosis leg. Such a leg occurs when a blood clot blocks a vein in the leg and obstructs the blood flow in the leg. The clot can break loose towards the lungs and cause a pulmonary embolism there. That is also the reason why standard anticoagulants are often given during knee and hip operations. This type of treatment carries an increased risk of thrombosis. People with pulmonary fibrosis, COPD and asthma also have a higher risk of pulmonary embolism, and that risk increases with age.

Increased Risk Of Pulmonary Embolism:

• People at risk of a thrombosis leg
• People with pulmonary fibrosis
• People with COPD
• Asthma patients

Other Risk Factors for Pulmonary Embolism

• You have a damaged blood vessel wall, for example due to arteriosclerosis
• Your blood circulation is slower than normal, for example due to a long trip or prolonged illness
• The composition of your blood has changed, for example due to medication, illness or pregnancy

Usually a pulmonary embolism is caused by a combination of the above factors. The risk is even higher if someone has a family history of thrombosis (hereditary thrombosis), if someone has had a previous venous thrombosis or pulmonary embolism and after a bone fracture or limb in a cast. Serious obesity and smoking also increase the risk. Finally, you run a higher risk of a pulmonary embolism if you take the contraceptive pill (especially if you are over 35), during pregnancy and during childbirth.

Hereditary diseases

In addition to the above issues, you are also more likely to develop a pulmonary embolism with certain hereditary disorders:

Factor V Leiden

Factor V Leiden is a hereditary blood clotting disease that makes a person more likely to develop blood clots because the protein C works less well. There is a mild and severe form of Factor V Leiden. In the mild form, most people never get a thrombosis. But people with the rare form of Facor V Leiden have on average a fifty to one hundred times greater risk of thrombosis. It can therefore be useful to find out whether this disease plays a role in thrombosis.

Too many clotting proteins

In other hereditary disorders, people make too many clotting proteins in their blood, for example clotting factor VIII. The blood then clots faster. This one
people have an average four times greater risk of thrombosis than people with normal amounts of factor VIII.

Too few clotting proteins

There are also conditions in which people make too few clotting proteins that can inhibit blood clotting, for example antithrombin, protein C or protein S. A deficiency of these proteins can increase the risk of thrombosis ten times.

A thrombosis can be life-threatening. If you suspect a thrombosis, always contact your doctor or general practitioner immediately or call 112.