A pulmonary embolism (PE) happens when a blood clot gets stuck in a blood vessel in your lungs. Other parts of your body can get hurt if they don’t get enough air because of that blockage. It’s a severe condition; diagnosis of saddle pulmonary embolism and recovery could take weeks or months. After one, your chances of having another increase. However, there are steps you may do to maintain blood flow and prevent clots from forming in the future. Also, keep an eye out for any indications of a recent blood clot on your legs. Give your doctor a call as soon as you observe any of these:
- Swelling
- Pain
- Skin that is warmer than usual or red
Post pulomunary embolism care
After having PE, many people go to the hospital to get better. How long this stay lasts may depend on how severe the PE was. There was a study in 2008 that found that the average length of stay in the hospital for a PE was six days.
Sometimes, you can get help at home. In 2020, the American Society of Haematology released rules that say doctors should treat people with PE at home if they are at a low risk for complications.
Next, talk about some things you might do to improve after PE.
Medication and Diet
If you have had a pulmonary embolism, the first medicine your doctor will give you is an anticoagulant. Medications referred to as “blood thinners” prevent the formation of blood clots. Even though they don’t break up clots, they keep them from getting bigger while your body breaks them down.
Because these medicines thin your blood, you might need to change what you eat and drink. Certain foods, such as those rich in vitamin K, may alter the way blood thinners function because vitamin K aids in the formation of blood clots in the body. Therefore, you should continue to eat the same amounts of leafy greens, salmon, liver, and some types of vegetable oils. Changing the amount of these foods you eat is up to you.
You should also tell your doctor about any other medicines you take, whether prescription or over-the-counter. These everyday things can also change how blood thinners work. Some of these are:
- Painkillers like aspirin
- Sleeping pills
- Medicines that kill germs
Exercise
Most people can walk and do light chores right away after having a pulmonary embolism. However, you may feel short of breath or tired quickly.
Most likely, your doctor will tell you to do specific exercises for a few weeks or months to help your breathing and strength. If something hurts or begins to swell, you should listen to what they advise but avoid pushing yourself.
Follow-up Appointments
While healing, you’ll have regular follow-up appointments with your doctor. These can start any time between two weeks and three months. After your PE, trust a source.
Doctor will schedule futher appointments in future to assess your recovery progess. Of course, they will answer any questions or resolve any issues.
With the help of blood tests, your doctor can determine how well your body is responding to your drugs and whether or not they are working effectively. You usually only need more imaging if you have long-lasting complaints like fatigue or shortness of breath.
After three months, if you still have PE, your doctor will decide if you need to keep taking blood-thinning medications.
Lifestyle Advice
To strengthen your heart and prevent the formation of another blood clot, you need to change your lifestyle both during and after your recovery. These include the following:
- A diet good for your heart
- doing regular exercise
- Taking care of your weight
- Getting rid of stress
- Giving up smoking
- Putting on compression socks
- sitting down for two hours at a time
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How long will it take to get better after PE?
Different people can take different amounts of time to recover from PE. After a few weeks or months, many people can fully recover and return to their average exercise level. As your body recovers and gets better, some of your symptoms will also get better. After a PE, most patients experience breathing difficulties or chest pain for several weeks, months, or even years.
The well researched project examined the health of one hundred and ninety-one individuals having PE in 2019. After six months, almost half of the participants said they had breathing problems, and 25% said they were having trouble at work.
We’ll then discuss some of the most important factors that can influence how quickly you recover.
PE’s severity
Treatment can be depend on the severity of PE and healing power of individuals. For instance, invidual need intensice care if they ave a life-threatening symptoms of pulmonary embolism and this include medication and proper medical treatment.
Your overall health
Taking care of your general health is essential to treat and get better from any illness. It’s the same with PE.
If you already have specific health problems, you may be more likely to have long-lasting shortness of breath or trouble working out after PE. Here are some examples of these:
- Cancer
- Inflammatory disease
- Taking thyroid hormone for hypothyroidism
- Having surgery like a splenectomy
- Risk of blood clots
Making sure that no new blood clots form is an essential part of recovery from PE. Numerous factors can increase your risk of developing a blood clot, including:
- Having had blood clots before
- Older age
- Some health problems
- Being overweight
- Getting cancer
- Getting an illness like COVID-19
- Heart failure
- Stroke heart attack
- Significant injuries, including hip or leg fracture or spinal cord injury
- A pregnancy
- Genetic traits like factor V Leiden thrombophilia make you more likely to get blood clots
- Taking hormone-based drugs like birth control pills
- Hormone replacement therapy surgery
- Being unable to move for longer durations of time, such when you’re on bed rest or traveling far
Your chance of getting a blood clot usually increases as the risk factors increase. During your recovery from PE, your doctor will assess the chances of future blood clot occurrences. Medicines that thin the blood may need to be taken for longer by people who have a greater tendency to get sick.
Conclusion
After a pulmonary embolism, it could be challenging to continue with your everyday activities and you can feel drained out. There is also a greater chance that the embolism will happen again. Fortunately, you can improve the quality of your life and have a successful recovery by adequately managing your life after a pulmonary embolism. You can position yourself for a speedy recovery with a positive outlook by making dietary modifications, easing back into exercise, and following your doctor’s pharmaceutical treatment plan.
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