Question

Case Scenario: An 18-year old high school football player suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the state playoffs. After undergoing repair, he found it difficult to ambulate with the knee brace. Weighing close to 140 kg (approximately 300 pounds), the athlete found it difficult to stand and balance on one leg. His mother was unable to support him by herself. After one week, the young man began to have increased pain and swelling in the calf of his affected leg. In the middle of the night, the teen called out to his mother, complaining of a shortness of breath and unexplained anxiety. His mother called 9-1-1, and he was taken to a local hospital. In the emergency department, he was diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis and a pulmonary embolism. Oxygen and low-molecular-weight heparin were administered, and the young man was admitted to the intensive care unit.

Question: Because of the thrombus lodging in the pulmonary circulation, the sympathetic nervous system is activated. Explain how this young man is affected hemodynamically.

Answer 1

Pulmonary embolism is a condition in which there is thrombus stuck in one or more pulmonary arteries resulting in blockage of blood supply to a part of lung.

this results in activation of sympathetic nervous system activation that will result in hemodynamical changes like vasodilation, decreased pulmonary artery pressure and right heart failure ultimately. Pulmonary embolism results in death of a part of lung tissue that causes, impairment in surfactant production, bronchiectasis or atelectasis