Can an air embolism cause a pe? Are they
completely different in cause? If air
gets into a central line, will it cause
only an air embolus and not a pe? Also,
if an air embolus (or pe) occurs from air
in a central line, will the symptoms be
immediate? :?:
Embolism refers to any large moving mass
(cloth, gas, fat, bacterial deposit etc.)
or defect in the blood stream that finally
stick in some blood vessel. If that
"moving mass" in the blood is gas that is
called air (gas) embolism. Most of the
small air embolisms stick in the lungs but
here the air is expelled without causing
pulmonary embolism. Gas bubble, if large,
sticks in the right ventricle without
reaching the lungs and can cause fatal gas
embolism. If gas enter the arteries it can
cause infarct in the affected organs.
Pulmonary embolism a usually due to blood
cloth that sticks in the main lung
arteries or in their branches. Small
bubbles can't cause pulmonary embolism but
small blood clothes can. Big bubble can
cause heart shock in a similar way like
when blood cloth sticks in the main
pulmonary arteries.
If large amount of gas enters into the
central line it can cause embolism in the
right ventricle of the heart not in the
lungs. Symptoms, in such case, would be
immediate.
