Question: What is the main cause of a pulmonary embolism, and how is it treated?

Camille Parsons answered on 11 Jun 2018:

Really good question, I am afraid I am not a clinical doctor and my area of research is bone and muscles however one of the wonderful things about my job is I get to work with many different people with different qualifications. So I went and chatted to one of the clinical doctors I work with and he told me:-
“I’d say that the main cause of a pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blood clot forming in one of the veins in the legs. This can then break away and travel in the bloodstream up to the lungs where it causes a blockage. As a PE is a blood clot we treat them by thinning the blood which stops the clot getting bigger and allows the body to break the clot down. This can be done with drugs such as enoxaparin and warfarin.”
Hope that answers your question 🙂