Eisenmenger complex
Eisenmenger Complex is the term used to describe the resultant effects of prolonged pulmonary hypertension in patients with uncorrected congenital heart defects, which eventually results in a reversal of the shunting of blood within the heart , so that it goes from right to left.The effect of this right to left shunting, is to pump blood from the right side of the heart which takes blood to the lungs, through the septal defect(s) (hole or holes in the central heart wall) and into the left side of the heart which takes blood to the body. Thus a proportion of blood bypasses the lungs and is not oxygenated, so the level of oxygen (saturation) in the blood decreases and the patient is cyanosed (blue).
Symptoms
A patient with Eisenmengers can experience ‘blue spells’, dizziness and faints, breathlessness and chest pain. They can be prone to having small strokes, or can cough up blood. In order to compensate for the low oxygen levels (saturation) in the blood, the body may produce too many red blood cells (the cells which take the oxygen around the body). This excess of red blood cells is called Polycythaemia. It causes a thickening of the blood, headaches, chest, joint and muscle pain. It can also cause visual disturbance and thrombosis (clots of blood) and embolism (moving blood clots.)Treatment
The treatment for Eisenmengers is to maintain an optimum haemoglobin (red cell) level in the blood, which may be managed in several ways, some of which will be more effective in some patients than others.Anticoagulants Drugs such as Warfarin are anticoagulants, which help to stop the blood clotting. This reduces the risk of thrombosis and embolism and also thins the blood which makes it easier for the heart to pump around.
Diuretics Diuretics such as Frusemide are often used to assist the body in ridding itself of excess fluid which may accumulate particularly in the lungs and read more
