THERE IS NO CLINICAL JUSTIFICATION FOR CAROTID SCREENING IN MALES OVER 70 YEARS OR FEMALES OVER 75 YEARS

BACKGROUND: Acute pulmonary thromboembolism (APTE) is common and potentially life-threatening cardiovascular emergency. The fatality rate in acute cases ranges from 7-11%. There are many predisposing risk factors for APTE. Depressed, inactive patients would appear to be at significant risk for pulmonary embolism, given their lack of activity and putative platelet pathology. METHODS AND RESULTS: We report a clinical case of a 41 years old patient flowed for depression 4 months ago who reported that he spent almost all of his time in bed, sleeping with limited physical activity, that presenting at the emergency for acute onset of fatigue, shortness of breath and dyspnoea a few hours before admission, the anamnesis revealed no classical factors of veinous thromboembolism, the clinical examination fount a tachycardia, tachypnea, without clinical evidence of heart failure, the D-Dimer level was elevated, and the thoracic CT angiogram revealed intraluminal thrombi in lobar and segmental branches of the pulmonary arteries causing incomplete luminal obstruction. Diagnosis of APTE was confirmed, further etiological investigations ruled out other etiology of the venous thromboembolism. the patient was treated by anticoagulant, and antidepressant therapy with good clinical improvement. CONCLUSION: Severe major depression associated with psychomotor retardation and immobility can be a risk factor for pulmonary embolism. We must remember to search a depression in patients with pulmonary embolism and may be use a prophylaxis for this kind of patients.