Pulmonary Embolism

• Chest pain
• Difficulty breathing
• Lightheadedness or fainting
• Cough
• Palpitations
• Low blood pressure

Tests to diagnose a pulmonary embolism include routine blood work, physical examination and dedicated imaging such as computed tomography (CT scan), echocardiography or ventilation-perfusion (VQ) scan.

For patients with a pulmonary embolism, the Heart and Vascular Center has a multidisciplinary 24/7 Pulmonary Embolism Response Team (PERT) at Bridgeport and Yale New Haven hospitals to provide initial evaluation and a treatment plan.

In Connecticut, only Yale New Haven Hospital has a dedicated 24/7 adult and pediatric PERT program offering all medical, endovascular and surgical therapies for acute and chronic pulmonary embolism as well as deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Our Pulmonary Embolism Response Team includes pulmonologists, intensivists, interventional radiologists, cardiologists, surgeons, hematologists and emergency medicine physicians. PERT includes specialists from Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and pediatric Critical Care Medicine clinical staffs who provide advanced inpatient and outpatient services to diagnose, treat, and monitor a wide range of respiratory diseases for critically ill patients.

Treatment options vary based on blood clot severity and may include blood thinners (anticoagulants), and/or a minimally invasive endovascular procedure known as catheter-directed embolectomy that uses a catheter fitted with a suction device to remove the clot. In some cases, clot busters (thrombolytics) or surgery is needed.

Yale New Haven Hospital is the only hospital in Connecticut that can perform a curative surgical procedure -- pulmonary thromboendarterectomy -- for adults with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH), a potential complication from a pulmonary embolism. After treatment, the PERT provides long-term outpatient care at the Winchester Center for Lung Disease.

Though a pulmonary embolism is rare in children, a specialized Pulmonary Embolism Response Team is ready 24/7 to evaluate, diagnose and treat children at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital (YNHCH) with this condition. YNHCH is one of the few hospitals in the United States with this specialty care for pediatric patients.