Pulmonary embolism (PE)

Alteplase belongs to a class of medications called tissue plasminogen activators (tPA). There are a lot of severe conditions which involve insufficient oxygen to body parts, such as myocardial infarction (a type of heart attack), ischemic stroke (blocked artery in the brain), and pulmonary embolism (blocked vessel in the lungs). Tissue plasminogen activators can dissolve blood clots quickly to decongest blocked blood vessels. It is considered an emergency medication for those patients in the hospitals. However, there are contraindications that limit many patients from using Alteplase and other fibrinolytic.