Table 5.

Cardiovascular complications after acute symptomatic pulmonary embolism.

Short-term complications	Mortality	Short-term mortality after acute PE might be decreasing.
	Recurrent VTE	Recurrent VTE is very infrequent while receiving standard anticoagulation. If confirmed, consider malignancy or antiphospholipid syndrome.
	Atrial fibrillation	Newly diagnosed AF might worsen the prognosis of patients with PE.
Long-term complications	Mortality	It is increased in patients with PE, compared to the general population. Cancer accounts for the vast majority of the deaths in patients who survive the acute phase.
	Recurrent VTE	Current guidelines provide general recommendations for the duration of anticoagulation after an episode of PE.
	Dyspnea	Persistent dyspnea is common after treatment of PE.
	CTED	CTED indicates a limitation in exercise capacity, consistent with pulmonary vascular disease, but in the absence of elevated pulmonary arterial pressures.
	CTEPH	Diagnosis and management of CTEPH requires particular expertise and should be done in referral centers of excellence. Treatment options may include drug therapy, balloon pulmonary angioplasty, and pulmonary thromboendarterectomy.

PE, pulmonary embolism; VTE, venous thromboembolism; AF, atrial fibrillation; CTED, chronic thromboembolic disease; CTEPH, chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension.