Are PE's caused by anything other than recent clots or clotting. I.e. can other material cause them or old clots, would it be detected?

[ianp5uk]

I have had 2 PE's recently. In the past had a couple of traumas that had significant internal bleeding that was not treated. One of them resulted in an operation a year after the event to remove scar tissue that was causing a problem. They were 5 - 7 years ago now.

[rosyG]

It's possible that new clots can form as a result of any injury which slows down the flow of blood through a blood vessel.These, as you know, can then break off and travel, causing PE. Are you on any anti-coagulant now? That would be the main way to protect yourself but you could ask for scans of the old trauma area to determine whether this is restricting blood flow in any way??

Hope you keep well!

[ianp5uk]

Yes on Warfarin but if there's something causing the problem I'd like to get the root cause addressed. Trouble is in the NHS / GP sausage factory they don't seem very interested beyond treating the immediate problem. I didn't even get to speak to the consultant in charge.

[rosyG]

Try following up with a letter to the consultant- I have found recently that I get more help by writing to the consultant than from theGPs.

You could ask if you could have a scan to see if there are any narrowed vessels because of the old trauma- best to put it in writing, with all you past history- they find it hard to ignore then!!

Good luck!

[ianp5uk]

Thanks for the advice