It is the sudden occlusion of a peripheral artery by an embolism that can threaten the viability of the affected limb.
The origin is the heart in most cases. The first cause is an arrhythmia called atrial fibrillation and the second is acute myocardial infarction. There are risk factors that may influence such as stenosis or narrowing of the mitral valve, rheumatic valve disease, valve prostheses, intracardiac tumors, etc.
It manifests with tingling, pain, absence of pulse, pallor of the extremity and paralysis of the extremity.
It is diagnosed by means of a clinical history, complete physical examination and Doppler ultrasound.
Immediate medical treatment is anticoagulation with high-dose heparin and then the embolus must be removed by urgent surgery (surgical embolectomy).
- Marc E Mitchell, Jeffrey P Carpenter. Overview of acute arterial occlusion of the extremities (acute limb ischemia). UpToDate. May 31, 2016.
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- Baril DT, Patel VI, Judelson DR, et al. Outcomes of lower extremity bypass performed for acute limb ischemia. J Vasc Surg 2013; 58:949.
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- Creager MA, Dzau VJ. Enfermedades vasculares de las extremidades. Harrison. Manual de Medicina. 16º edición. 697-700.
