Percutaneous interventions for pulmonary embolism

Venous thromboembolism and pulmonary embolism (PE) is the third most common cardiovascular disease and a leading cause of death in the US. There are many risk factors related to PE. Traditional treatments are anticoagulation, systemic thrombolysis, and surgical thrombectomy. More recently, several minimally invasive procedures were introduced, which includes catheter-directed thrombolysis, percutaneous embolectomy, embolus fragmentation techniques, pulmonary artery stent placement or association of two or more of those techniques. In the present study the Authors review the role of the different techniques for the treatment of PE, and provide some guidelines and indications for treatment. The most popular devices and techniques are described in detail, and the efficacy of the techniques is discussed.