Assessment of pulmonary embolism severity and the risk of early death

Pulmonary embolism severity and the risk of early death 1 of the patient's risk of an adverse outcome.Thus, the evaluation of RV function remains the cornerstone of mortality risk assessment in PE. 1 Depending on the degree of RV function compromise, a heterogeneous clinical presentation of PE from asymptomatic incidental findings on imaging studies to sudden cardiac death may be observed.Based on clinical presentation as well as laboratory and imaging parameters, the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines on the diagnosis and management of acute PE classify PE into one of 4 categories (FIguRE 1). 1 High -risk PE is defined by the presence of hemodynamic instability, presenting as obstructive shock, cardiac arrest, or persistent hypotension refractory to treatment and not attributed to concomitant factors.This is the smallest subgroup accounting for 5% of all PE patients; however, with very high mortality rates approaching 30%.In order to prove that hemodynamic instability results from PE and to diagnose high -risk PE, confirmation of RVD on imaging studies is required.At the other end of the severity spectrum, low -risk PE is