Why does a bubble in a bloodstream cause your body to go haywire?

Question

Why does a bubble in a bloodstream cause your body to go haywire?

In: 78

Answer 1

Small volumes of air in veins isn’t a big deal, it just goes to the lungs and you breathe it off. Any amount of air in an artery is a big deal; as the vessels become smaller the bubble will eventually block the flow of blood and cause ischemia to the tissue supplied by that vessel. If it’s a vessel that supplies the brain, it causes a stroke (which can range from clinically silent to a large deficit based on where the stroke is and how big etc)

Answer 2

Small volumes of air in veins isn’t a big deal, it just goes to the lungs and you breathe it off. Any amount of air in an artery is a big deal; as the vessels become smaller the bubble will eventually block the flow of blood and cause ischemia to the tissue supplied by that vessel. If it’s a vessel that supplies the brain, it causes a stroke (which can range from clinically silent to a large deficit based on where the stroke is and how big etc)