PE-attributable mortality among US patients with ASCVD rose from 2010 to 2023, particularly among young-to-middle-aged adults, socioeconomically isolated ethnic and racial groups, and Western residents.
From 2010 to 2023, 152,386 US patients with ASCVD aged ≥15 years died from pulmonary embolism.
The overall PE-attributable age-adjusted mortality rate among patients with ASCVD increased from 3.62 to 4.96 per 100,000 between 2010 and 2023.
The rise in PE-attributable mortality was biphasic, with a modest increase from 2010 to 2018 and a sharp rise from 2018 to 2023.
AAMR was highest in non-Hispanic/non-Latinx Black American individuals, while American Indian/Alaska Native and Hispanic/Latinx populations had the steepest increases.
Adults younger than 65 years, rural areas, and the Western United States showed disproportionate rises in PE-attributable mortality, while the South had the highest absolute number of deaths.
The rise in PE mortality paralleled increasing age-adjusted ASCVD prevalence, which was driven by hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease.
This study looked at deaths from pulmonary embolism (a blood clot that blocks arteries in the lungs) among people in the United States who also had atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, such as heart disease caused by clogged arteries. Using national death records from 2010 to 2023, researchers counted over 152,000 such deaths. After adjusting for age, the death rate rose from about 3.6 to about 5.0 per 100,000 people. The increase was slow from 2010 to 2018 and then much faster from 2018 to 2023. The increases were not the same everywhere. Black Americans had the highest death rates, while American Indian/Alaska Native and Hispanic/Latinx populations saw the steepest rises. Adults under 65, people in rural areas, and residents of the Western US showed disproportionate increases, and the South had the largest total number of deaths. During the same period, the share of people with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease rose, alongside high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease. This research suggests that pulmonary embolism is an increasingly important cause of death in people with cardiovascular disease, and that some groups are affected more than others. Because the study uses population-level records and shows parallel trends rather than proving cause, it cannot say why the rise occurred. It may help guide attention toward younger adults and underserved communities.
Zuin M, Bilato C, Rigatelli G, Goldhaber S, Piazza G. (2026). Pulmonary Embolism-Attributable Mortality in Patients With Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease in the United States from 2010 to 2023.. Journal of the American Heart Association. https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.126.049510