SAN DIEGO (November 3, 2026)–New research presented today at TCT 2026 found similar short-term outcomes in women and men with intermediate-risk pulmonary embolism (PE) after aspiration thrombectomy, a catheter-based procedure to remove blood clots from arteries in the lungs, despite higher pre-treatment risk among women. The results were simultaneously published in JSCAI.
The study, " Sex Differences in Risk Profile and Outcomes Following Aspiration Thrombectomy for Intermediate Risk Pulmonary Embolism: Findings from the SYMPHONY-PE IDE Trial, " was a secondary analysis of a prospective trial evaluating the Symphony Thrombectomy System. The trial enrolled 109 patients at 17 U.S. centers, including 43 women and 66 men.
Despite more frequent elevations in blood markers of heart strain and higher shock-risk scores before treatment, women experienced clot reduction similar to men. Both groups recorded a median three-day postprocedure hospital stay, with approximately 98% in each group discharged home. No deaths or device-related serious adverse events were reported through 30 days; major bleeding occurred in two women and no men with available follow-up.
"Women in this study showed signs of higher risk before treatment, yet most short-term results following clot removal were similar to those of men. These findings highlight the need to better understand how pulmonary embolism affects women and men and how those differences may inform treatment," said Arman Qamar, MD, MPH, FSCAI, director of the Center for Cardiovascular Personalized Medicine and co-director of the Pulmonary Embolism Response Team at Endeavor Health Cardiovascular Institute in Glenview, IL.
The authors cautioned that the study was too small to establish equivalent outcomes or draw firm conclusions about differences between women and men. Follow-up lasted 30 days, and the trial did not compare the device with anticoagulation, or blood-thinning medication, alone. The findings may not apply to other thrombectomy devices.
The study was funded by Imperative Care, Inc.
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