Vim & Vigor - Spring 2014 - Parrish Medical Center - (Page 53)

TreaTmenT advice Once Morgan was admitted to the hospital, he met with Dr. Rao to determine the best treatment options. Because of the clots, Morgan had also developed pulmonary hypertension. The right side of his heart was enlarged from working overtime to pump blood and oxygen through his body. Although clots usually dissolve on their own, a thrombolytic (clot dissolver) is often given to help speed the process. Dr. Rao suggested a fairly new procedure using catheter-directed clot-dissolving drugs. The drug is dispersed quickly by ultrasonic waves delivered through a special catheter guide wire. Without the procedure, Morgan's body would eventually reabsorb the clots, but that could leave him with permanent damage to his heart and scarring on the walls of his lungs. The only holdup to doing the procedure immediately was that PMC only had one machine. Doing both lungs at once would mean less time for Morgan to be immobilized. Thankfully, a second unit was quickly lent and delivered to the cardiac catheterization lab. The double procedure to treat blood clots in the lungs with this system was a first for PMC. ©2014 ThInksToCk Finally, Good news The procedure itself took only about 30 minutes in the PMC cath lab, but that was just the beginning. Once the catheters were threaded through Morgan's groin area to his lungs, he had to lie on his back, as still as possible. In a highly coordinated team effort by the cardiac catheterization care partners, he and his bed and the two machines he was hooked up to were carefully moved to the intensive care unit. For 17 hours he lay in the ICU while the clot-dissolving drugs were distributed to his lungs. It turned out Morgan had an undiagnosed deep vein thrombosis (or DVT, a blood clot) behind his right knee. DVT is a serious condition-if a clot that forms in a vein Could I Develop Deep Vein Thrombosis? Caused by blood clots that form in veins, deep vein thrombosis can lead to leg pain, but it often occurs without symptoms. It can develop if you're sitting still for a long time, such as when traveling by plane or car, or if you have certain medical conditions that affect how your blood clots. breaks loose, it can travel through the bloodstream and lodge in the lungs, blocking blood flow. The good news for Morgan came two weeks later when he had a follow-up CT lung scan and Doppler ultrasound. He had a significant decrease in the clots in his lungs, and the DVT in his leg had disappeared completely. And he had no permanent heart damage. Morgan went back to work on light duty. GraTiTude Morgan and his wife are thankful to everyone at PMC for the care they received. "I am grateful to Dr. Rao for suggesting this procedure and providing excellent healing care to me," Morgan says. "Everyone who cared for me in the emergency department, on the fourth floor, in the cath lab and ICU were excellent." Adds Allison: "I cannot thank Parrish Medical Center and the superior care partners enough for saving my husband's life. Matt and I have been married almost 16 years, and our sons need their daddy to stay around to coach them-not only through many more baseball games, but through life as well." online But this time was different. He couldn't catch his breath, and his heart was racing. He could barely stand up. Even after resting for a few minutes, the feelings didn't go away. Once he got home, his wife took him to Parrish Medical Center's emergency department as quickly as possible. There, after many tests and scans, the doctors determined that he had bilateral pulmonary emboli-multiple blood clots in both lungs. Pulmonary embolism can occur in otherwise healthy people, says interventional cardiologist Ravi Rao, MD. Common signs and symptoms include sudden and unexplained shortness of breath, chest pain and coughing up blood. Know Before You Go Go to parrishmed.com/emmi and learn about pulmonary hypertension and deep vein thrombosis, among other conditions, with Emmi, PMC's interactive online education. SPRI NG 2014 53 http://www.parrishmed.com/emmi

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Spring 2014 - Parrish Medical Center

Vim & Vigor - Spring 2014 - Parrish Medical Center
Contents
Tasty Tips
Opening Thoughts
Community Calendar
What’s New?
What Are Your Wishes?
CT Scans Can Save Lives
Occupational Hazards
The New Rules of Play
Shopping for Two
Back to Basics
Burn, Baby, Burn
Angelina Jolie
Rock Your Health
Breaking Up with Salt
Disgusting! (or Not?)
Virtual Health
Food Label Literacy
Breathing New Life
Foundation Focus
Ask the Expert

Vim & Vigor - Spring 2014 - Parrish Medical Center