Risk factors for thromboembolism, the major cause of arterial embolism, include disturbed blood flow (such as in atrial fibrillation and mitral stenosis), injury or damage to an artery wall, and hypercoagulability (such as increased platelet count). Mitral stenosis poses a high risk of forming emboli which may travel to the brain and cause stroke. Endocarditis increases the risk for thromboembolism, by a mixture of the factors above.

Atherosclerosis in the aorta and other large blood vessels is a common risk factor, both for thromboembolism and cholesterol embolism. The legs and feet are major impact sites for these types. Thus, risk factors for atherosclerosis are risk factors for arterial embolisation as well:

- advanced age

- cigarette smoking

- hypertension (high blood pressure)

- obesity

- hyperlipidemia, e.g. hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, elevated lipoprotein (a) or apolipoprotein B, or decreased levels of HDL cholesterol)

- diabetes mellitus

- Sedentary lifestyle

- stress

Other important risk factors for arterial embolism include:

- recent surgery (both for thromboembolism and air embolism)

- previous stroke or cardiovascular disease

- a history of long-term intravenous therapy (for air embolism)

- Bone fracture (for fat embolism)

A septal defect of the heart makes it possible for paradoxical embolization, which happens when a clot in a vein enters the right side of the heart and passes through a hole into the left side. The clot can then move to an artery and cause arterial embolisation.

About 90% of emboli are from proximal leg deep vein thromboses (DVTs) or pelvic vein thromboses. DVTs are at risk for dislodging and migrating to the lung circulation. The conditions are generally regarded as a continuum termed "venous thromboembolism" (VTE).

The development of thrombosis is classically due to a group of causes named Virchow's triad (alterations in blood flow, factors in the vessel wall and factors affecting the properties of the blood). Often, more than one risk factor is present.

- "Alterations in blood flow": immobilization (after surgery), injury, pregnancy (also procoagulant), obesity (also procoagulant), cancer (also procoagulant)

- "Factors in the vessel wall": surgery, catheterizations causing direct injury ("endothelial injury")

- "Factors affecting the properties of the blood" (procoagulant state):

- Estrogen-containing hormonal contraception

- Genetic thrombophilia (factor V Leiden, prothrombin mutation G20210A, protein C deficiency, protein S deficiency, antithrombin deficiency, hyperhomocysteinemia and plasminogen/fibrinolysis disorders)

- Acquired thrombophilia (antiphospholipid syndrome, nephrotic syndrome, paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria)

- Cancer (due to secretion of pro-coagulants)

Pulmonary emboli occur in more than 600,000 people in the United States each year. It results in between 50,000 and 200,000 deaths per year in the United States. The risk in those who are hospitalized is around 1%. The rate of fatal pulmonary emboli has declined from 6% to 2% over the last 25 years in the United States.

In the United States, approximately 550,000 people die each year from heart-related arterial embolism and thrombosis. Approximately 250,000 of these individuals are female, and approximately 100,000 of all these deaths are considered premature, that is, prior to the age of average life expectancy.

Lung infarction, also known as pulmonary infarction, occurs when an artery to the lung becomes blocked and part of the lung dies. It is most often caused by pulmonary embolism.

There is varying evidence about the importance of saturated fat in the development of myocardial infarctions. Eating polyunsaturated fat instead of saturated fats has been shown in studies to be associated with a decreased risk of myocardial infarction, while other studies find little evidence that reducing dietary saturated fat or increasing polyunsaturated fat intake affects heart attack risk. Dietary cholesterol does not appear to have a significant effect on blood cholesterol and thus recommendations about its consumption may not be needed. Trans fats do appear to increase risk. Acute and prolonged intake of high quantities of alcoholic drinks (3–4 or more) increases the risk of a heart attack.

Arterial embolism can cause occlusion in any part of the body. It is a major cause of infarction, tissue death due to the blockage of blood supply.

An embolus lodging in the brain from either the heart or a carotid artery will most likely be the cause of a stroke due to ischemia.

An arterial embolus might originate in the heart (from a thrombus in the left atrium, following atrial fibrillation or be a septic embolus resulting from endocarditis). Emboli of cardiac origin are frequently encountered in clinical practice. Thrombus formation within the atrium occurs mainly in patients with mitral valve disease, and especially in those with mitral valve stenosis (narrowing), with atrial fibrillation (AF). In the absence of AF, pure mitral regurgitation has a low incidence of thromboembolism.

The risk of emboli forming in AF depends on other risk factors such as age, hypertension, diabetes, recent heart failure, or previous stroke.

Thrombus formation can also take place within the ventricles, and it occurs in approximately 30% of anterior-wall myocardial infarctions, compared with only 5% of inferior ones. Some other risk factors are poor ejection fraction (<35%), size of infarct, and the presence of AF. In the first three months after infarction, left-ventricle aneurysms have a 10% risk of emboli forming.

Patients with prosthetic valves also carry a significant increase in risk of thromboembolism. Risk varies, based on the valve type (bioprosthetic or mechanical); the position (mitral or aortic); and the presence of other factors such as AF, left-ventricular dysfunction, and previous emboli.

Emboli often have more serious consequences when they occur in the so-called "end circulation": areas of the body that have no redundant blood supply, such as the brain and heart.

The most prominent risk factors for myocardial infarction are older age, actively smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, and total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein levels. Many risk factors of myocardial infarction are shared with coronary artery disease, the primary cause of myocardial infarction, with other risk factors including male sex, low levels of physical activity, a past family history, obesity, and alcohol use. Risk factors for myocardial disease are often included in risk factor stratification scores, such as the Framingham risk score. At any given age, men are more at risk than women for the development of cardiovascular disease. High levels of blood cholesterol is a known risk factor, particularly high low-density lipoprotein, low high-density lipoprotein, and high triglycerides.

Many risk factors for myocardial infarction are potentially modifiable, with the most important being tobacco smoking (including secondhand smoke). Smoking appears to be the cause of about 36% and obesity the cause of 20% of coronary artery disease. Lack of physical activity has been linked to 7–12% of cases. Less common causes include stress-related causes such as job stress, which accounts for about 3% of cases, and chronic high stress levels.

Embolism can be classified as to where it enters the circulation either in arteries or in veins. Arterial embolism are those that follow and, if not dissolved on the way, lodge in a more distal part of the systemic circulation. Sometimes, multiple classifications apply; for instance a pulmonary embolism is classified as an arterial embolism as well, in the sense that the clot follows the pulmonary artery carrying deoxygenated blood away from the heart. However, pulmonary embolism is generally classified as a form of venous embolism, because the embolus forms in veins, e.g. deep vein thrombosis.

Thrombosis prevention is initiated with assessing the risk for its development. Some people have a higher risk of developing thrombosis and its possible development into thromboembolism. Some of these risk factors are related to inflammation. "Virchow's triad" has been suggested to describe the three factors necessary for the formation of thrombosis: stasis of blood, vessel wall injury, and altered blood coagulation. Some risk factors predispose for venous thrombosis while others increase the risk of arterial thrombosis.

Injury to the lung may also cause pulmonary edema through injury to the vasculature and parenchyma of the lung. The acute lung injury-acute respiratory distress syndrome (ALI-ARDS) covers many of these causes, but they may include:

- Inhalation of hot or toxic gases

- Pulmonary contusion, i.e., high-energy trauma (e.g. vehicle accidents)

- Aspiration, e.g., gastric fluid

- Reexpansion, i.e. post large volume thoracocentesis, resolution of pneumothorax, post decortication, removal of endobronchial obstruction, effectively a form of negative pressure pulmonary oedema.

- Reperfusion injury, i.e. postpulmonary thromboendartectomy or lung transplantation

- Swimming induced pulmonary edema also known as immersion pulmonary edema

- Transfusion Associated Circulatory Overload (TACO) occurs when multiple blood transfusions or blood-products (plasma, platelets, etc.) are transfused over a short period of time.

- Transfusion associated Acute Lung Injury (TRALI) is a specific type of blood-product transfusion injury that occurs when the donors plasma contained antibodies against the donor, such as anti-HLA or anti-neutrophil antibodies.

- Severe infection or inflammation which may be local or systemic. This is the classical form of ALI-ARDS.

Some causes of pulmonary edema are less well characterised and arguably represent specific instances of the broader classifications above.

- Arteriovenous malformation

- Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome

- High altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE)

- Envenomation, such as with the venom of Atrax robustus

A very large range of medical conditions can cause circulatory collapse. These include, but are not limited to:

- Surgery, particularly on patients who have lost blood.

- Blood clots, including the use of some platelet-activating factor drugs in some animals and humans

- Dengue Fever

- Severe dehydration

- Shock (including, among other types, many cases of cardiogenic shock- e.g., after a myocardial infarction or during heart failure; distributive shock, hypovolemic shock, resulting from large blood loss; and severe cases of septic shock)

- Heart Disease (myocardial infarction- heart attack; acute or chronic congestive or other heart failure, ruptured or dissecting aneurysms; large, especially hemorrhagic, stroke; some untreated congenital heart defects; failed heart transplant)

- Superior mesenteric artery syndrome

- Drugs that affect blood pressure

- Drinking seawater

- As a complication of dialysis

- Intoxicative inhalants

"Flash pulmonary edema" ("FPE"), is rapid onset pulmonary edema. It is most often precipitated by acute myocardial infarction or mitral regurgitation, but can be caused by aortic regurgitation, heart failure, or almost any cause of elevated left ventricular filling pressures. Treatment of FPE should be directed at the underlying cause, but the mainstays are ensuring adequate oxygenation, diuresis, and decrease of pulmonary circulation pressures.

Recurrence of FPE is thought to be associated with hypertension and may signify renal artery stenosis. Prevention of recurrence is based on managing hypertension, coronary artery disease, renovascular hypertension, and heart failure.

The prevalence of LVT with AMI is 5-15%. The rates of AMI associated with LVT is declining due to the use of better therapies and percutaneous coronary intervention used to treat myocardial infarction. LVT formation has been found to be higher in anterior wall AMI than other types of AMI.

The effects of a circulatory collapse vary based on the type of collapse it is. Peripheral collapses usually involve abnormally low blood pressure and result in collapsed arteries and/or veins, leading to oxygen deprivation to tissues, organs, and limbs.

Acute collapse can result from heart failure causing the primary vessels of the heart to collapse, perhaps combined with cardiac arrest.

The main causes of thrombosis are given in Virchow's triad which lists thrombophilia, endothelial cell injury, and disturbed blood flow.

Coronary thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel of the heart. This blood clot restricts blood flow within the heart. It is associated with narrowing of blood vessels subsequent to clotting. The condition is considered as a type of ischaemic heart disease, also known as a heart attack or myocardial infarction.

Thrombosis in the heart can lead to a myocardial infarction. Coronary thrombosis and myocardial infarction are sometimes used as synonyms, although this is technically inaccurate as the thrombosis refers to the blocking of blood vessels, while the infarction refers to the tissue death due to the consequent loss of blood flow to the heart tissue. The heart contains many connecting blood vessels, and depending upon the location of the thrombosis, the infarction may cause no symptoms. Coronary thrombosis is caused by atherosclerosis.This is when there is build up of cholesterol and fats in the artery walls. So the blood will clot because there isn't enough room for it to flow. The main causes of coronary thrombosis are stress, smoking, high blood pressure, and lack of exercise. Symptoms are sharp pains around the chest area, breathing difficulties, dizziness, and fainting. This is treated by taking Aspirin, Nitrates, or Beta Blockers.

Coronary thrombosis can be a complication associated with drug-eluting stents.

After return of heart function, there has been a moderately higher risk of death in the hospital when compared to MI patients without PVF. Whether this still holds true with the recent changes in treatment strategies of earlier hospital admission and immediate angioplasty with thrombus removal is unknown. PVF does not affect the long-term prognosis.

A number of medications may cause or worsen the disease. This includes NSAIDS, a number of anesthetic agents such as ketamine, thiazolidinediones, a number of cancer medications, salbutamol, and tamsulosin among others.

One of the most important features differentiating ischemic cardiomyopathy from the other forms of cardiomyopathy is the shortened, or worsened all-cause mortality in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy. According to several studies, coronary artery bypass graft surgery has a survival advantage over medical therapy (for ischemic cardiomyopathy) across varied follow-ups.

Men have a higher incidence of heart failure, but the overall prevalence rate is similar in both sexes since women survive longer after the onset of heart failure. Women tend to be older when diagnosed with heart failure (after menopause), they are more likely than men to have diastolic dysfunction, and seem to experience a lower overall quality of life than men after diagnosis.

Left ventricular thrombus is a blood clot (thrombus) in the left ventricle of the heart. LVT is a common complication of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Typically the clot is a mural thrombus, meaning it is on the wall of the ventricle. The primary risk of LVT is the occurrence of cardiac embolism, in which the thrombus detaches from the ventricular wall and travels through the circulation and blocks blood vessels. Blockage can be especially damaging in the heart or brain (stroke).

Cardiac:

- constrictive pericarditis. One study found that pulsus paradoxus occurs in less than 20% of patients with constrictive pericarditis.

- pericardial effusion, including cardiac tamponade

- cardiogenic shock

Pulmonary:

- pulmonary embolism

- tension pneumothorax

- asthma (especially with severe asthma exacerbations)

- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Non-pulmonary and non-cardiac:

- anaphylactic shock

- hypovolemia

- superior vena cava obstruction

- pregnancy

- obesity

PP has been shown to be predictive of the severity of cardiac tamponade. Pulsus paradoxus may not be seen with cardiac tamponade if an atrial septal defect or significant aortic regurgitation is also present.

Ischemic cardiomyopathy is the cause of more than 60% of all cases of systolic congestive heart failure in most countries of the world. A chest radiography that demonstrates coronary artery calcification is a probable indication of ischemic cardiomyopathy.

The following are causes of ischemic cardiomyopathy:

- Diabetes

- Atherosclerosis

- Vasospasm

- Inflammation of arteries

With treatment, approximately 80% of patients are alive (approx. 95% after surgery) and approximately 70% of infarcted limbs remain vital after 6 months.