Condition Lookup

Start typing to search for a specific condition, or select a specialty to see all of its conditions

Sub-Category:

Pulmonary embolism (PE)

Specialty: Emergency and Urgent Care

Sub-category: Pulmonary Vascular Conditions

Symptoms:
sudden shortness of breath; chest pain (pleuritic or sharp); cough; hemoptysis; rapid heart rate; lightheadedness; cyanosis; leg swelling (if deep vein thrombosis is present)

Root Cause:
Blockage of one or more pulmonary arteries by a blood clot (usually from a deep vein thrombosis), causing impaired blood flow, increased pulmonary vascular resistance, and hypoxemia.

How it's Diagnosed: videos
Clinical evaluation, D-dimer test, imaging like CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA), ventilation-perfusion (V/Q) scan, and Doppler ultrasound for DVT.

Treatment:
Anticoagulation (heparin, warfarin, or DOACs), thrombolytic therapy in severe cases, oxygen therapy, and sometimes surgical or catheter-directed embolectomy.

Medications:
Heparin (anticoagulant for immediate effect), warfarin or direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) like rivaroxaban or apixaban (long-term anticoagulation), and alteplase (thrombolytic agent for massive PE).

Prevalence: How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Incidence is approximately 60-70 cases per 100,000 people annually.

Risk Factors: Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Prolonged immobility, surgery, trauma, pregnancy, oral contraceptive use, cancer, and genetic clotting disorders.

Prognosis: The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
With prompt treatment, survival rates are high. Untreated, it can be fatal within hours.

Complications: Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Pulmonary hypertension, right heart failure, and recurrent embolism.