I need some explanations please.

[benny3008]

My dad (42) was rushed to hospital this morning with low blood pressure and high pulse rate, the doctor said he suspects it could be one of 3 things; Pneumonia, Pulmonary embolism or collapsed lung. Can anyone explain to me what these 3 are please, im really confused and worried for my dads sake. I just want thing to be a little clearer.

[benny3008]

I tried wikipedia but i need it in lamens terms, wiki make it difficult to understand.

[karenmac60]

Sqad would be the best person to answer this for you, but in the meantime I'll try my best. Pneumonia is fluid on the lungs making it difficult to breathe. It can be very serious or it can be recovered from with antibiotics. Pulmonary embolism, I think, is a blood clot on the lung, which again can be serious but not necessarily. A collapsed lung means the lung cannot inflate properly and causes pain and shortness of breath. As far as I know all of these things CAN be serious, but if they are caught early and treated properly there is no reason your dad can't make a full recovery. He's also fairly young which helps. I apologise if I've got any of this wrong and I'm sure sqad'll be along soon. Good luck x

[looobylooo]

hi benny,
so sorry to hear about your dad, hes in good hands now though and they will look after him and see hes alright, so try and not worry too much if you can.
my dad has a heart condition too, a high pulse rate/rapid heart beat, i think he has whats called atrial fibulation and ventrical fibulation.
we had some very scary times a couple of years ago with it, but now with mediacation tweaked and a defibulator fitted in his chest hes been fine since.
so id imagine they will do lots of tests on your dad and keep a constant eye on him, maybe keep him in for a couple of nights too and they will get him well again.
they will look after him benny, so try and not to worry - hard i know cus i know what its like as ive been there with my dad.
let us know how he gets on wont you.
take care :o)
and by the way, got your creme eggs yesterday, theyre lovely - thankseth! xx

[benny3008]

thanks for your answers, I'm glad you enjoyedeth your cream eggs. I will let you know soon how dad gets on. x

[daffy654]

My lungs have collapsed several times,they will possibly insetrt a chest drain at the hospital to help the lung reinflate if that is your dad's problem,sometimes they can manually remove the air around the lung using a large needle and empty syringe to pull the air out of the chest space. Google spontaneous pneumothorax for more information on this subject. If it is a collapsed lung it is very easily diagnosed with a chest xray.

[Sqad]

benny....excellent answer by karen and the only thing that I can add is to say until the diagnosis is established, I cannot say whether or not this is a "bid deal" or "no big deal"

[benny3008]

This evening they have added one other possible problem which could be causing the Low blood pressure and high pulse rate, they have said it could be something to do with the liver, they are going to do a scan on the liver tomorrow and hopefully that will give us some answers, thanx for all your answers everyone. :-)