ISBN-13: 9783848435326 / Angielski / Miękka / 2012 / 312 str.
According to Van Beek,1996,Pulmonary Embolism (PE) is responsible for more deaths than any other single disease, yet it is often under diagnosed. A good clinician who suspects their patient may have PE, actively pursues a definitive and prompt diagnosis, because the correct diagnosis and treatment can dramatically reduce the mortality of the disease(Faiad 1997). PE is seen as such a serious life-threatening illness because it can cause permanent damage to part of the lung due to the lack of blood supply to lung tissue,resulting in cyanosis from low blood oxygen levels or leading to damage of other vital organs from lack of oxygen(Howarth,1999).Acute respiratory consequences of pulmonary embolism include increased alveolar dead space,pneumoconstriction,hypoxia and hyperventilation.Prolonged exposure to lack of perfusion includes regional loss of surfactant and subsequent pulmonary infarction (Kamanger,2010).If a large enough clot is left untreated, PE will cause death. The greatest risk of PE occurs in patients with previous deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or a history of previous PE (Clinical Imaging,1994) The risk of of PE doubles every ten (10) years after the age of sixty-five (65)