The Interventional Cardiology team of Hospital da Luz Lisboa successfully performedits first endovascular intervention to treat a patient with acute pulmonary thromboembolism (PE). This procedure is applied in clinical situations of intermediate-high risk acute pulmonary thromboembolism, with specific clinical and anatomical criteria, being a complementary alternative to the usual medication therapy. The procedure was applied by cardiologists Afonso Félix Oliveira and Sérgio Madeira , together with cardiopneumology technicians Sandra Luís and Beatriz Paiva and nurse Joana Coelho. The success of the intervention was also due to the timely assessment and diagnosis made by the Urgent Care team and the experienced inpatient clinical management of the Intensive Care Unit team and Internal Medicine team of this Hospital. A pulmonary thromboembolism, or pulmonary embolism, is a condition that results from the sudden obstruction of a pulmonary artery by a thrombus (‘blood clot’) preventing the passage of blood. This obstruction impairs the normal functioning of the heart and lungs, posing a risk to the patient’s life in the most severe cases. The procedure now applied at Hospital da Luz Lisboa is particularly demanding for it requires the availability and collaboration of several teams, 24 hours/day, in a clinical intervention that goes far beyond the proceeding in the hemodynamics lab. Cardiovascular disease remains the major cause of death and morbidity. Hospital da Luz Lisboa includes since its creation a Cardiovascular Centre dedicated to approach this disease in its various forms. The interventional cardiology procedure now performed was only possible thanks to the investment of the Hospital and its units in innovation and the continuous improvement in healthcare provided.
