Cardiac Arrest Caused by Multiple Recurrent Pulmonary Embolism

Pulmonary embolism is a common condition with a high mortality. We describe a previously healthy 68-year-old male who suffered three pulmonary embolisms during a short period of time, including two embolisms while on anticoagulant treatment. This paper illustrates three important points. (1) The importance of optimal anticoagulant treatment in the prevention of pulmonary embolism reoccurrence. (2) The benefit of immediate accessibility to echocardiography in the handling of haemodynamically unstable patients with an unknown underlying cause. (3) Thrombolytic treatment should always be considered and may be life-saving in patients with cardiac arrest suspected to be caused by pulmonary embolism.