What are the symptoms of venous air embolism in pregnant women?

Pregnant women will encounter more risks during the delivery process, and these risks can cause great harm to the mother. For example, difficult labor can put the mother and fetus in danger of life, and postpartum hemorrhage can also pose a life-threatening risk to the pregnant woman. Therefore, protecting the mother is a very important thing during the delivery process. In modern life, various phenomena that affect the life of parturient women have gradually become known to people, and many treatment methods have been summarized accordingly to ensure the health of parturient women. For example, venous air embolism in pregnant women is an extremely dangerous phenomenon. As long as it is treated in time, there is no risk at all. Let’s take a look at the symptoms of venous air embolism in pregnant women.

Air embolism is a disease caused by a gas embolus originating in the lungs and blocking cerebral blood vessels. It is usually caused by excessive expansion of the lungs due to the expansion of pulmonary gas when the surrounding pressure decreases (such as when ascending from deep water to shallow water). It is usually characterized by pain and/or neurologic symptoms. Air embolism refers to air entering the blood circulation to the lungs, blocking the main pathway of the pulmonary artery and causing severe shock. This disease is extremely rare and can occur during delivery or postpartum (including miscarriage) in the field of obstetrics and gynecology.

1. Amniotic fluid embolism

It often occurs in obstetric situations and has an acute onset. The main clinical manifestations are dyspnea, cyanosis, shock, etc., which are similar to air embolism. However, amniotic fluid embolism is often accompanied by a clear bleeding tendency and no grinding wheel murmur in the precordial area; while air embolism is the opposite, often not accompanied by a bleeding tendency, and a grinding wheel murmur can be heard in the precordial area, which can be used to distinguish them.

2. Pregnancy-induced hypertension

The patient may have a sudden convulsion, which can be easily confused with an air embolism caused by air ascending to the brain. However, patients with pregnancy-induced hypertension are often accompanied by hypertension, edema, proteinuria, etc., while patients with air embolism have low blood pressure or even unmeasurable blood pressure, which makes it easy to distinguish.

3. Cardiogenic shock

The symptoms of acute onset, irritability, cyanosis, chest pain, low blood pressure, and weak pulse are similar to those of air embolism, but most patients have a history of cardiovascular disease, no grinding wheel murmur in the precordial area, and the electrocardiogram often shows left ventricular lesions rather than acute cor pulmonale.