Pulmonary Embolism: When To Call A Doctor

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When To Call a Doctor

Call 911 or other emergency services immediately if you think you have symptoms of pulmonary embolism. Symptoms include:

• Sudden shortness of breath.
• Sharp chest pain that sometimes becomes worse with deep breathing or coughing.
• Rapid pulse or palpitations.
• Sweating.
• Anxiety.
• A cough that may produce a bloody mucus or blood.
• Fainting.

Call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of a blood clot in the leg. These symptoms may include:

• Swelling in a leg that may make it noticeably larger than the other leg. Swelling may also appear as a swollen ridge along a blood vessel that you can feel.
• Skin that is red and warm to the touch.
• Pain or tenderness in the calf or thigh. Some people only notice pain when standing or walking.

Blood clots in the deep veins of the leg are the most common cause of pulmonary embolism. For more information on these types of blood clots, see the topic Deep Vein Thrombosis.

Watchful Waiting

If you think you may have pulmonary embolism, call your doctor or go to the emergency room at the nearest hospital. Watchful waiting is not appropriate for pulmonary embolism.

Who To See

Health professionals who can diagnose pulmonary embolism include:

• An emergency room doctor.
• An internal medicine doctor (internist).
• A family medicine doctor.
• A nurse practitioner or physician assistant.
• A pulmonologist.
• A cardiologist.
• A surgeon. This is most often a general surgeon, an orthopedic (bone) surgeon, or a vascular (vein) surgeon.
• An obstetrician (if pulmonary embolism is pregnancy-related).

To prepare for your appointment, see the topic Making the Most of Your Appointment.

Last updated:	February 13, 2007
Author:	Shannon Erstad, MBA/MPH
Reviewed By:	Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine, Jeffrey S. Ginsberg, MD - Hematology
Editors:	Kathleen M. Ariss, MS, Pat Truman, MATC