Apr 19, 2024 · An embolism is an obstruction or blockage in a blood vessel. Most often, it starts as a blood clot from elsewhere that breaks off and travels through your bloodstream. When a blood clot or another substance becomes an obstacle, it’s an embolism.

Dec 1, 2022 · A pulmonary embolism (PE) occurs when a blood clot gets stuck in an artery in the lung, blocking blood flow to part of the lung. Blood clots most often start in the legs and travel up through the right side of the heart and into the lungs.

An embolism is the lodging of an embolus, a blockage-causing piece of material, inside a blood vessel. [1] The embolus may be a blood clot , a fat globule (fat embolism), a bubble of air or other gas (gas embolism), amniotic fluid (amniotic fluid embolism), or foreign material.

Jan 9, 2021 · An embolism, also called thromboembolism, is a blockage in one of the arteries of the body due to a blood clot that has broken off from another location in the body (embolus) and traveled through the bloodstream to lodge in a small blood vessel.

A pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blood clot in your lung that creates a blockage. This causes issues with blood flow and oxygen levels in your lungs. A PE is a medical emergency.

This condition is called an embolism. Types of embolism. There are several types of embolism: pulmonary embolism: An embolus, usually formed in the leg (sometimes known as a deep vein thrombosis or DVT), lodges in one of the arteries of the lungs. Many emboli are broken down by the body and go away by themselves; however, serious pulmonary ...

Sep 9, 2024 · A pulmonary embolism, or PE, is a blockage in the arteries that deliver blood to your lungs. It can happen when a blood clot forms in your leg (deep vein thrombosis) and travels through your body.

Dec 21, 2023 · A pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blood clot that blocks the flow of blood to part of one lung. Many people with this condition have two or more clots in one or both lungs. Symptoms of a pulmonary embolism can be subtle: for example, shortness of breath on exertion or intermittent chest pains.

A pulmonary embolism (PE) can cause a lack of blood flow that leads to lung tissue damage. It can cause low blood oxygen levels that can damage other organs in the body, too. A PE, particularly a large PE or many clots, can quickly cause …

Mar 28, 2025 · “Embolism means something migrated from somewhere to another place” through connected blood vessels, says Behnood Bikdeli, M.D., a cardiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston. Pulmonary, in this case, refers to the clot’s potentially fatal move into the lungs.