Phase 1 (cardiopulmonary collapse): Prodromal symptoms most probably precede each embolic event, although they are not always mentioned in the descriptions. Patients experience pricking sensation in the chest, chills, dry cough, anxiety, tetanic uterine contractions and fetal distress (late decelerations and meconiumstained amniotic fluid). The first symptoms, besides the prodromal ones, include dramatic respiratory and circulatory disorders—breathing becomes fast, shallow and irregular (dyspnoe, tachypnoe), cyanosis appears, changing quickly into pallor, blood pressure drops rapidly, pulse becomes fast and thready; many patients lose consciousness and cardiac arrest is frequently noted. In the past, the above disorders were called obstetric shock, whereas nowadays they are referred to as obstetric nonhemorrhagic and noncardiogenic shock [12].