Pulmonary embolism

A blockage of a pulmonary artery, usually caused by a blood clot that travels from the deep veins of the legs or pelvis.

Deep vein thrombosis: A blood clot in a deep vein, most often in the leg or pelvis. Many pulmonary emboli begin as clots in these veins before traveling to the lungs.
CT pulmonary angiography: A contrast-enhanced CT scan that images the pulmonary arteries. It is the main imaging test for directly identifying many acute pulmonary emboli.
Saddle pulmonary embolism: A pulmonary embolus lodged across the division of the main pulmonary artery into its two branches. This named location illustrates a large central clot, though location alone does not determine severity.
Pneumonia: An infection that inflames the air sacs in one or both lungs. Both conditions can cause breathlessness and chest pain, but pneumonia is an infection rather than a vascular blockage.
Virchow's triad: A framework describing how blood stasis, vessel-wall injury, and hypercoagulability promote thrombosis. Its three factors explain why venous clots form before they can embolize.
D-dimer: A blood test measuring fragments produced when cross-linked fibrin is broken down. A negative result can help exclude embolism in patients with low or intermediate clinical probability.
Massive pulmonary embolism: A pulmonary embolism causing sustained hypotension, shock, or cardiac arrest. It shows the life-threatening end of the acute severity spectrum.
Acute coronary syndrome: A group of conditions caused by sudden reduced blood flow to the heart muscle. Its chest pain and cardiac biomarkers can overlap with findings during pulmonary embolism.
Right ventricular strain: Impaired right-heart function caused by increased resistance to blood flow through the pulmonary arteries. An obstructed pulmonary circulation raises the right ventricle's workload.
Wells score: A clinical prediction rule that estimates the probability of venous thromboembolism. It helps determine whether testing should begin with D-dimer or imaging.

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