Pulmonary Embolism - Video Lesson

Hey, everybody. Welcome to this short lesson about a pathology we call pulmonary embolism. Pulmonary embolism is exactly what it sounds like. There's nothing tricky about it. Pulmonary embolism is an embolism or a blood clot in the pulmonary arteries. There's lots of things that can cause a patient to have pulmonary embolism. Some of the risk factors include DVT or deep vein thrombosis. In fact, that's where all pulmonary emboli actually come from. They start as deep vein thrombosis. They migrate up through the abdomen and get stuck in the pulmonary arteries of the hearts. There's other conditions that increase the risk of pulmonary embolism. One is clotting disorders. There are certain patients that have various conditions, sometimes even genetic conditions that cause their blood to clot more often than it should. And these patients will sometimes struggle with chronic pulmonary emboli. Another risk factor is recent surgery.