title: Diagnosis and risk stratification in acute pulmonary embolism: the role of echocardiography.
abstract: Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a frequently encountered clinical condition with a high mortality rate that is affected by various factors such as age, hemodynamics, and other comorbidities. Early diagnosis and risk stratification are crucial to achieving a favorable clinical outcome. New risk stratification algorithms have been proposed in order to identify high-risk patients who will benefit from early thrombolytic treatment. Among the various validated diagnostic methods, the role of echocardiography is increasingly accepted. Recent advances in studying right ventricular function have made echocardiography an attractive tool for establishing or excluding the diagnosis of acute PE in the emergency setting and initiating optimal therapy.
authors: Department of Cardiology, Asklepeion General Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors: Antonis N
authors: AN
authors: Pavlidis
authors: Manolis S
authors: MS
authors: Kallistratos
authors: Grigoris V
authors: GV
authors: Karamasis
authors: Athanasios S
authors: AS
authors: Tsoukas
authors: Ioannis P
authors: IP
authors: Levantakis
authors: Dimitrios
authors: D
authors: Mauropoulos
authors: Athanasios J
authors: AJ
authors: Manolis
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000465:Algorithms; D003661:Decision Support Techniques; D018618:Echocardiography, Doppler, Color; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal; D006801:Humans; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D015912:Thrombolytic Therapy; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left; D016278:Ventricular Function, Right