Treating and Preventing Pulmonary Embolisms

Pulmonary embolisms occur when an artery in your lung gets blocked.

They're the fourth leading cause of cardiovascular deaths in the U.S. They're also a common cause of deaths in hospitals. Symptoms include:

• Chest pain or heaviness, especially pain that comes on suddenly
• Shortness of breath
• Heart palpitations
• Swollen legs

Pulmonary embolisms are more common in older people. They tend to be triggered by sitting or lying down for a long period of time.

In this week's podcast, Aditya M. Sharma, MBBS, explains how you can prevent these blocked arteries and how they're treated.