How do doctors diagnose a pulmonary embolism?

Around Tinley Park, a pulmonary embolism and a deep vein clot get named in the same breath, so people ask whether finding out which one they have works the same way. This page takes the pulmonary embolism side and keeps its look-alike at arm's length.

What the publisher lists for finding out

medlineplus.gov answers the question directly. To find out if you have a PE, your health care provider will: Take your medical history, including asking about your symptoms and risk factors for PE, and the same list continues with: Do a physical exam Likely order some tests, including various imaging and blood tests

Where the look-alike stops

Deep vein thrombosis is the look-alike term, and it has its own overview in Cleveland Clinic's deep vein thrombosis guide. The steps quoted above belong to the pulmonary embolism source alone and are not carried across to it here.

The venous setting behind both terms

For the venous setting around both terms, the Cleveland Clinic overview of venous disease is a separate publisher worth reading beside this page.

The follow-up the source raises

Once the evaluation is clear, the next comparison readers reach for is what a pulmonary embolism itself is and how it differs from a clot in the leg.