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1. >What to Know about Pulmonary Embolism

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a potentially catastrophic health issue in which a blood clot forms in the lung, blocking off blood flow and doing serious tissue damage. When a pulmonary embolism occurs, the resulting loss of oxygen in the blood is often fatal - an estimated one in three people who suffer from PE and go untreated die from this condition. The clots that lead to a pulmonary embolism usually form in the veins, usually in the pelvis or in the legs, before breaking loose and traveling into the lungs. A pulmonary embolism may form if a patient has had cancer, a fracture of the hip...