Deep vein distress

MADAM A had been on a cruise ship for a month and had been gradually developing chest pains and progressive shortness of breath for over three weeks. As she was breathless even at rest, she had to be transferred to the hospital because of her symptoms.

On further evaluation with ultrasound scans of the lower limb veins, she was found to have developed clots in her leg veins, a condition called deep vein thrombosis (DVT). The clots had dislodged from her leg veins and travelled into the main vein of the body (called inferior vena cava or IVC) leading into the right heart chambers.

The clots then passed from the IVC through the right side of the heart chambers into the arteries of the lung (pulmonary arteries) where they were lodged and thus, obstructed blood flow into some of the lung arteries. This resulted in less blood flow to the lungs and less oxygen, causing chest pain and breathlessness.