Arterial embolism

An experience in the care of twenty-nine patients with thirty-one hospital admissions and affecting thirty-six arteries is presented. The importance of early, accurate diagnosis is stressed because of the urgency of prompt operation even in upper extremity occlusions. It is believed that the optimum time for surgery is before eight hours, but this is not a constant factor. The principal source of emboli is from the diseased heart, this being present in twenty-two of the thirty-one hospital admissions, myocardial infarction, arteriosclerotic heart disease and rheumatic heart disease occurring in that order. Auricular fibrillation and congestive failure proved to be strong contributing factors. Although, arterial embolectomy proved to be successful in restoring pulsations and function in twenty-seven, there were four deaths and two lower extremity amputations. Saddle aortic embolism was a major contributing factor to this mortality emphasizing the seriousness of this occurrence, although four of seven were successfully treated.