Pulmonary Embolism Symptoms
2. Acute Chest Pain
A pulmonary embolism can cause sharp, sustained pain in the chest. This is a symptom that should always receive immediate medical evaluation because it is suspicious for both a heart attack and a PE, each of which could prove fatal if left untreated.
However, there can be a difference between the quality of pain that you experience with a pulmonary embolism compared to a heart attack. The latter tends to cause a sensation of pressure or squeezing, as though an elephant is sitting on your chest. A pulmonary embolism causes sharp pain that can get worse when you change position to stoop or bend over. Sometimes, merely attempting to breathe in deeply makes the pain worse. Coughing, another symptom of PE, can also exacerbate the pain in your chest.
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