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Medical Author:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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Medical Editor:

George Schiffman, MD, FCCP

George Schiffman, MD, FCCP

Dr. Schiffman received his B.S. degree with High Honors in biology from Hobart College in 1976. He then moved to Chicago where he studied biochemistry at the University of Illinois, Chicago Circle. He attended Rush Medical College where he received his M.D. degree in 1982 and was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. He completed his Internal Medicine internship and residency at the University of California, Irvine.

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Pulmonary Embolism Prognosis

The prognosis of people with pulmonary embolism depends on many factors. First and perhaps most significant is the size and location of the clot. The bigger the clot and the larger the blood vessel that is blocked, the more serious the condition is. The outlook may be poor with big clots or clots blocking larger blood vessels, especially if they are not diagnosed and treated quickly.

• Some people may die immediately when a blood clot breaks loose and goes to the lung. Still others die in a short time period because of inability to get oxygen into the blood or from blood pressure collapse.
• Those who do survive the initial episode and who are able to receive appropriate treatment generally do well.
• People with pulmonary embolisms are usually hospitalized for several days until their blood can be adequately thinned. Then they are maintained on blood thinning medication for 6 months or longer. Some patients require life-long medication while others may require a filter surgically placed in the vena cava to prevent large clots from reaching the lungs. These filters are placed in the inferior vena cava, and currently many are of the removable variety. These may be indicated especially in the case where a patient needs surgery or is bleeding and unable to receive blood thinners.