Arterial thrombosis it usually occurs in the arteries where atherosclerotic plaque (consisting of cholesterol, calcium crystals, inflammatory cells) is deposited. If the surface wall of the plaque breaks, a clot / thrombus forms, which can decrease or interrupt blood flow. Depending on the artery affected, the consequences are different: ischemic stroke, heart attack or peripheral arterial disease.
Symptoms of ischemic stroke: weakness or numbness of the face, arms or legs, especially on one side of the body; confusion, difficulty speaking and understanding; vision problems; dizziness, difficulty walking; very severe headache with no apparent cause.
Symptoms of heart attack: pain or tightness in the center of the chest which may radiate to surrounding areas, shortness of breath, nausea, paleness, intense sweating.
Symptoms of peripheral arterial diseaseThe most characteristic symptom is intermittent claudication, a violent muscle pain that prevents walking.
Venous thrombosis occurs when a thrombus forms in the veins, which slows the flow of venous blood to the heart and lungs. It mainly affects the legs, but can also affect the arms, abdominal or brain veins. When it affects deep veins it is called deep vein thrombosis and this, if not recognized and treated, can cause pulmonary embolism.
Symptoms of deep vein thrombosis are pain in the affected limb (usually the leg), swelling, and sometimes redness.
Pulmonary embolism occurs when an embolus (born from a ruptured thrombus) travels in the blood and is pushed by the heart into the pulmonary circulatory system, in some cases causing sudden death.
The most common symptoms of pulmonary embolism: severe chest pain, shortness of breath, cough with traces of blood in the phlegm and rapid or irregular heartbeat. These symptoms should always be investigated, especially if they are accompanied by pain or swelling in one leg. Unfortunately, there are not rare cases in which the pulmonary embolism does not give any sign of self or it presents only with a strange feeling of shortness of breath and difficulty in breathing.
The causes that predispose to venous thromboembolism are genetic or transient (surgery, hospitalization, bed rest and fever, pregnancy, childbirth, hormonal therapies, tumors, chemotherapy).
Pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and some inherited types of anemia (such as sickle cell anemia) also carry an increased risk, particularly of pulmonary thromboembolism.
Venous thromboembolism, among the cardiovascular events, the first cause of death in the world. In particular, pulmonary thromboembolism affects 1-2 out of a thousand people every year in Europe: out of 100 people affected, 10 lose their lives.
Because we talk about thrombosis
In recent days, there has been talk of thrombosis in relation to some decisions taken by the drug authorities of various countries (including Italy) to suspend the use of some batches of the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine. In some cases, the use of the vaccine was suspended outright for a few days.
But is there evidence of a link between vaccine use and thromboembolic events?
According to Ema, the European Medicines Agency, the number of thromboembolic events in vaccinated people does not exceed that observed in the general population. As of March 10, 2021, they have been reported 30 cases among nearly 5 million people vaccinated with AstraZeneca in the European Economic Area (the 27 EU member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, ed).
According to WHO, the World Health Organization, there is no reason to stop giving the vaccine. The WHO is evaluating the reports received in recent days, but affirms (confirming the position of the EMA) that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks is that so far no cases of death caused by anti-Covid vaccines have been reported.
AstraZeneca itself pointed out that, from an analysis of data on over 10 million administrations, There was no evidence of an increased risk of pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis in any age group, sex, batch or in any country where the vaccine was used.
What are the ongoing investigations
What about the investigations, then? We must proceed calmly. In some countries (Denmark, Norway, Iceland) the vaccination campaign was suspended for a few days as a precaution. Other countries (Austria, Estonia, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Latvia) have suspended the use of vaccines from a single batch, ABV5300, not distributed in Italy: but have decided to continue to use all other batches of vaccine regularly. In many other countries – from Great Britain to France, from Germany to Spain to Italy – the campaign goes on without problems.
In Italy, the Medicines Agency (Aifa) has issued – it must be reiterated: on the way precautionary — a ban on the use of a single lot, called ABV2856, distributed in all Regions, after the reporting of adverse events for which no causal link with the vaccine has yet been ascertained.
According to the first tests – but the tests are still in progress – those events were linked to thrombosis and blood clots. In all cases, investigations were opened.
The Ema – while stressing that the risk of blood clots is not greater in vaccinated people than in the general population – has launched investigations and is examining all reported cases.
It should be noted that neither EMA nor Aifa have decided to discontinue or advise against the use of the vaccine, which continues to be indicated as safe.
No cause-and-effect relationship between vaccine and thrombosis
The thing that attracted the most attention was the fact that the subjects were in good health and young enough, but even within that age group there can be cases of death – he says. Silvestro Scotti, national secretary of Fimmg, the union of general practitioners -. Thromboembolism, which is the leading cause of death, has a percentage of 0.007 per thousand compared to the world vaccination cases, on the data that are being collected. I feel reassured: on that day, in that age group, how many patients died of thrombosis? This needs to be clarified.
Fabrizio Pregliasco, medical director of the IRCCS Galeazzi of Milan stresses that not a withdrawal, but a precautionary suspension e the first data seem to exclude a cause-effect link. Who is vaccinated with that batch (“indicted” for the three deaths in Sicily, ed) can feel comfortable, at the moment there is no need to do particular insights on all vaccinated.
Between the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine and the deaths there is no causal link, but only a temporal link – confirms the Undersecretary of Health, Pierpaolo Sileri -. The number of deaths overlaps with that of the general population. And the same goes for thrombosis problems.
No cases in Great Britain and Israel
The vaccine made to prevent the virus from growing and has no action on other types of pathology. Pathologies that normally occur will continue to occur, there is no doubt that we will have many of these episodes – he explained Silvio Garattini, founder and president of the Mario Negri Irccs Institute of Pharmacological Research in Milan, during the broadcast Open on RaiTre -. In Italy we have about 2 thousand deaths a day from various causes. likely someone will die 3, 5 or 10 days after getting the vaccine, but maybe they would have died anyway. However Thrombosis cases have not been detected in Britain or Israel, where vaccination has been done on millions of people.
Vaccines and vaccination plan: things to know
March 13, 2021 (change March 14, 2021 | 10:34)
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