Management of saddle pulmonary embolism (PE) in haemodynamically stable patients with normal right ventricular (RV) function is unclear. Thrombolytic agents are indicated in haemodynamically unstable patients with PE. RV dysfunction has also been used as an indication for surgical embolectomy in normotensive patients with PE. Embolized thrombus burden, although intuitively related both to haemo...

Background Pulmonary embolism (PE) resulting from venous thromboembolism is a leading cause of maternal mortality in pregnancy. In patients with massive PE and hemodynamic instability, the treatment options often considered are thrombolytics, inferior vena caval filters, or embolectomy. We report here the case of a patient with massive PE at 28 weeks' gestation, who underwent emergency pulmonar...

Abstract We report a case of large thrombus entrapped in patent foramen ovale after bariatric surgery and pulmonary embolism. The 60-year-old female patient was admitted to hospital as an emergency syncope. She suffered from metabolic syndrome with obesity (height: 180 cm, weight: 170 kg, BMI: 49.4 kg/m 2 ) insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus type 2. had (implantation gastric balloon) 4 weeks p...

Acute massive pulmonary embolism is a life-threatening emergency that must be promptly diagnosed and managed. A 52-year-old man presented with progressively increasing dyspnoea for three days. He had a previous history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and was currently a heavy smoker. Examination revealed bilateral wheezing. Chest x-ray and electrocardiography showed non-specific change...

A 25 year-old female with a history of Caesarian section ten weeks ago presented with symptoms suggestive of pulmonary embolism. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed a free-floating large thrombus traversing the right atrial cavity. Transesophageal echocardiography confirmed the presence of an unattached thrombus that originated from the most proximal part of the inferior vena cava. Multi-sl...

Copyright © 2010 Massachusetts Medical Society. The clinical presentation of acute pulmonary embolism ranges from shock or sustained hypotension to mild dyspnea. Pulmonary embolism may even be asymptomatic and diagnosed by imaging procedures performed for other purposes. Depending on the clinical presentation, the case fatality rate for acute pulmonary embolism ranges from about 60% to less tha...

Between 1964 and 1986 a total of 71 pulmonary embolectomies were performed for acute massive pulmonary embolism. All patients were severely compromised haemodynamically. Sixteen (64%) of 25 patients who had sustained significant periods of cardiac arrest before operation died. The principal cause of death in this group was severe neurological damage. Five (11%) of the 46 who had not had a cardi...