ABSTRACT

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is responsible for approximately 20 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants per year in the United States (1-3). Untreated PE is associated with an overall mortality rate of approximately 30%, although more than half is due to underlying conditions like cancer and myocardial infarction (4, 5), which can be decreased to between 2 and 8% with the institution of appropriate treatment (6-8).