Linking To And Ecerpting From The American Heart Association’s “2026 Guideline for the Evaluation and Management of Acute Pulmonary Embolism in Adults”

Posted on July 7, 2026 by Tom Wade MD

Today, I review and excerpt from American Heart Association Professional Heart Daily‘s “2026 Guideline for the Evaluation and Management of Acute Pulmonary Embolism in Adults”. Updated: February 19, 2026.

All that follows is from the above resource.

  • A new clinical classification scheme is presented, entitled “Acute Pulmonary Embolism Clinical Categories,” with five categories (A–E) and subcategories, ranging from low to high risk for adverse outcomes, in order to enhance the precision of severity classification, prognosis assessment, and evidence-based therapeutic decision-making for patients presenting with acute PE.
  • Symptomatic patients with acute PE and an elevated clinical severity score, including those with elevated biomarkers and/or right ventricular dysfunction (AHA/ACC PE Category C), incipient cardiopulmonary failure (AHA/ACC PE Category D), and those with cardiopulmonary failure characterized by persistent hypotension (AHA/ACC PE Category E) should be hospitalized to optimize treatment strategies.
  • In patients with acute PE who are eligible for oral anticoagulation, direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are recommended over vitamin K antagonists (VKAs), unless contraindicated, to prevent recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE) and reduce major bleeding.
Read the full article in Circulation »
Figure 2026 AHA/ACC Acute PE Clinical Categories

Google Search: pulmonary embolism clinical severity score (PESI)

New 2026 AHA/ACC Acute PE Guideline: What Clinicians Need to Know

Learn what’s new in the 2026 AHA/ACC/Multisociety Guideline for Acute Pulmonary Embolism. Writing Committee Chair Mark A. Creager, MD, FACC, FAHA, MSVM, Co Vice Chairs Geoffrey D. Barnes, MD, MSc, FACC, FAHA, FSVM and Jay Giri, MD, MPH, FACC, FAHA, FSCAI, and ACC/AHA Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines Liaison Debabrata Mukherjee, MD, MS, FACC, FAHA, FSVM, MSCAI, highlight the most important updates for clinical practice.
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