Pulmonary Embolism Support Group
By far the most common form of pulmonary embolism is a thromboembolism, which occurs when a blood clot, generally a venous thrombus, becomes dislodged from its site of formation and embolizes to the arterial blood supply of one of the lungs. Symptoms may include difficulty breathing, pain during breathing, and more rarely circulatory instability and death.
does anyone know exactly what a shunt test is and means when the pulmonary lab takes you on 100% oxygen ad the result is supposed to somehow tell i think how much of the oxygen a person breathes attaches to the hemoglobin for availability by the body?
the reason i ask is i had that test Monday to see if the PFO surgery is really necessary. i am not sure how they come up with the figures but before the first vial of blood was taken the tech says the doc only does this surgery on thurs and depending on the result as to how fast he schedules you for surgery. apparently for every breath i take my body only has about 40% oxygen useful for the brain , organs ect.. the tech said something about the doc needs at least a 100 point difference between the blood test for the surgery to be considered helpful. mine was a 700+ point difference. i asked him if that was bad and he said very bad. the tech said the surgery scheduler would probably call me by the end of the day to schedule me for the PFO closure. that doc would want to get me in quick. i left the lab and had not even gotten out of the parking lot and the scheduler called with a surgery day for next Thursday. so i am nervous but also very excited to finally start to get some of my life back.. the doctor believes the pfo had started to grow in size after the first P.E. and my health has been hit over and over to the point that i am currently on 3ltrs of oxygen 24/7 now it just keeps getting a little worse
on black Fri shopping day i had my oxygen tank on and got 1/2 hour from the car and my head was spinning i was soaked in sweat, my heart rate was 125 just walking and my o2 reading on 3 ltrs was 89. i had to walk a 1/2 hour back to the car that was the end of shopping. bummer.
when we all talk about having a filter and wanting them out.
when i first met the cardiologist who is doing the surgery he asked if i had a filter his first comment is he just doesn't know why they put those things in they cause more trouble than it is worth. he was referring to my surgery when a surgery can by done by going thru the groin the dr has to go thru the inferior vena cava and pass thru the filter he said in my case big scary worry is if it gets stuck or is not doable as a procedure as opposed to a surgery. in my case he is going to try going thru the filter and if it won't pass thru safely i will have to have open heart surgery. so ya all pray for me that sounds like a much more scare and painful option
the reason i ask is i had that test Monday to see if the PFO surgery is really necessary. i am not sure how they come up with the figures but before the first vial of blood was taken the tech says the doc only does this surgery on thurs and depending on the result as to how fast he schedules you for surgery. apparently for every breath i take my body only has about 40% oxygen useful for the brain , organs ect.. the tech said something about the doc needs at least a 100 point difference between the blood test for the surgery to be considered helpful. mine was a 700+ point difference. i asked him if that was bad and he said very bad. the tech said the surgery scheduler would probably call me by the end of the day to schedule me for the PFO closure. that doc would want to get me in quick. i left the lab and had not even gotten out of the parking lot and the scheduler called with a surgery day for next Thursday. so i am nervous but also very excited to finally start to get some of my life back.. the doctor believes the pfo had started to grow in size after the first P.E. and my health has been hit over and over to the point that i am currently on 3ltrs of oxygen 24/7 now it just keeps getting a little worse
on black Fri shopping day i had my oxygen tank on and got 1/2 hour from the car and my head was spinning i was soaked in sweat, my heart rate was 125 just walking and my o2 reading on 3 ltrs was 89. i had to walk a 1/2 hour back to the car that was the end of shopping. bummer.
when we all talk about having a filter and wanting them out.
when i first met the cardiologist who is doing the surgery he asked if i had a filter his first comment is he just doesn't know why they put those things in they cause more trouble than it is worth. he was referring to my surgery when a surgery can by done by going thru the groin the dr has to go thru the inferior vena cava and pass thru the filter he said in my case big scary worry is if it gets stuck or is not doable as a procedure as opposed to a surgery. in my case he is going to try going thru the filter and if it won't pass thru safely i will have to have open heart surgery. so ya all pray for me that sounds like a much more scare and painful option
I'm so sorry your going through all this. You had the test, now it is hurry up and wait for the blood test results. let us know if you have to have surgery. I will be praying for. Post as often as you need to
The up side is that they might finally be able to fix the problem, and clearly, there is a serious problem! I hope they are able to go through the filter and that everything goes well. Will be sending "successful surgery" vibes!
KS