RT Book, Section
A1 Fernandez-Jimenez, Rodrigo
A1 Tapson, Victor
A1 Fuster, Valentin
A1 Ibanez, Borja
A2 Fuster, Valentin
A2 Harrington, Robert A.
A2 Narula, Jagat
A2 Eapen, Zubin J.
SR Print(0)
ID 1161717477
T1 PULMONARY EMBOLISM
T2 Hurst's The Heart, 14e
YR 2017
FD 2017
PB McGraw-Hill Education
PP New York, NY
SN 9780071843249
LK accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1161717477
RD 2024/04/24
AB Venous  thromboembolism  (VTE)  comprises  deep  vein  thrombosis  (DVT)  and  pulmonary  embolism  (PE).  It  is  the  third  most  frequent  cardiovascular  disease,  with  an  overall  annual  incidence  rate  between  75  and  270  cases  per  100,000  inhabitants.1  The  risk  of  VTE  approximately  doubles  with  each  subsequent  decade  after  the  age  of  40  years;  therefore,  a  larger  number  of  patients  are  expected  to  be  diagnosed  with  VTE  in  aging  societies  in  the  coming  future.1  PE  is  the  most  serious  clinical  presentation  of  VTE  with  1-  and  3-month  mortality  between  9%  and  11%  and  up  to  17%,  respectively.2,3,4  Following  the  acute  PE  episode,  resolution  of  emboli  is  frequently  incomplete  despite  optimal  anticoagulant  therapy,5  which  may  lead  to  the  development  of  chronic  thromboembolic  pulmonary  hypertension  (CTEPH).6  Although  a  number  of  patients  die  of  comorbidities  that  predispose  them  to  the  thromboembolic  event,  approximately  one-third  of  patients  who  die  from  PE  do  so  within  the  first  hours  of  presentation,  often  before  the  diagnosis  can  be  confirmed  and  therapy  initiated  or  because  the  diagnosis  was  overlooked.7  Despite  advances  in  diagnostic  imaging  tests  and  therapeutic  interventions,  PE  remains  underdiagnosed,  and  prophylaxis  continues  to  be  dramatically  underused.  Globally,  improvements  in  length  of  stay  and  changes  in  the  initial  treatment  are  being  accompanied  by  a  reduction  in  short-term  all-cause  and  PE-specific  mortality.8,9