Massive Pulmonary Embolism as a Complication of Coronary Angiography and Its Successful Treatment With Half-Dose Alteplase

A 64-year-old woman was admitted to our emergency room for shortness of breath, chest pain and syncope. Her symptoms started suddenly 2 hours before admission when she was resting at home. She had a history of coronary angiography 2 weeks ago and undergone surgical repair of femoral pseudoaneurysm. She was diagnosed with massive pulmonary embolism and successfully managed with half-dose alteplase and discharged with warfarin treatment 5 days after the admission. This case is presented in order to draw attention to this rare presentation and the use of half-dose systemic thrombolytic in a patient with a history of vascular surgery within 2 weeks. J Med Cases. 2014;5(10):532-534 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.14740/jmc1934w