Acute pulmonary embolism (PE), a common acute cardiovascular disease, has an annual incidence of 39∼120 cases per 100 000 population [1,2]. The incidence is increasing because of global population aging, improved awareness, and widespread imaging tests [2,3]. Because most PE-related symptoms are non-specific, ranging from asymptomatic to hemodynamic collapse and death, the diagnosis can be challenging [1,2]. Although the short-term mortality rate after acute PE is decreasing, about 20% of patients die before diagnosis or shortly after that, particularly if the embolism is associated with hemodynamic instability [2,3].
