Acute arterial thrombosis

Acute arterial thrombosis:

Acute arterial thrombosis refers to sudden occlusion of an already atherosclerosed artery. The arterial occlusion is usually due to sudden rupture of an atheromatous plague.

This condition is often referred to as "acute on chronic" arterial occlusion

The presentation is similar to acute arterial occlusion but less severe as the chronic arterial disease has lead to development of collateral vessels over the years so that the acute occlusion of the main artery is less dramatic. Also these patients often give previous history of intermittent claudication or even rest pain in the same limb and clinical examination will show signs of chronic ischemia in the limb and in other limbs too.

If acute on chronic ischemia is suspected a period of delay is justified to perform confirmative investigations before deciding on the treatment options.

Surgical embolectomy here is usually not enough and more complex surgery may be required but still results are less satisfactory with higher likelihood of amputation.