Catheter-directed Thrombectomy in High and Intermediate-high Risk Pulmonary Embolism

Pulmonary embolism is one of the leading causes of cardiovascular death. Pulmonary embolism may be life-threatening condition with an estimated 30-day mortality rate about 10-30%. In high-risk pulmonary embolism, systemic thrombolysis is indicated, whereas recent development of interventional cardiology has made catheter-directed techniques an important alternative to thrombolytic therapy. The controversy concerns also risk stratification and treatment in intermediate-high risk pulmonary embolism patients. A significant percentage of intermediate-high risk patients with pulmonary embolism may experience rapid hemodynamic deterioration and then the prognosis in this group is significantly worse. Catheter-directed techniques are aimed to quickly relive obstruction and restore pulmonary blood flow, thus increasing cardiac output and immediately restoring hemodynamic stability. The scope of this study is to evaluate the safety and feasibility of catheter-directed approaches in high-risk and intermediate-high risk pulmonary embolism patients.