MONDAY, Feb. 23, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- A new clinical classification system is presented to define the severity of an acute pulmonary embolism (PE) and assist in developing adult treatment strategies in a clinical practice guideline issued by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology and published online Feb. 19 in both Circulation and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Mark A. Creager, M.D., from the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, and colleagues from the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines developed this evidence-based and patient-centered guideline after a comprehensive literature search.
The guideline encompasses the period from the onset of symptoms through clinical follow-up, focusing on risk outcomes assessment, clinical diagnosis, appropriate adjunctive cardiovascular testing, and management of both acute and early postacute PE. The guideline explains risk factors for acute PE (e.g., recent surgery or hospitalization, trauma, prolonged immobility, pregnancy, obesity, cancer, and blood clotting disorders) and provides diagnostic strategies and treatment options to improve outcomes for patients with acute PE across levels of resources and care settings (e.g., emergency department, inpatient setting, or outpatient clinic). The guideline also provides recommendations for follow-up care after acute PE, including safe physical activity, travel considerations, and long-term use of anticoagulant medications.
"We anticipate that decisions guided by these recommendations will result in more rapid diagnosis and application of effective, evidence-based treatments, leading to better outcomes, such as decreased risk of death and disability, for people with acute pulmonary embolism," Creager said in a statement.