Human case reports suggest that injecting more than 100 mL of air into the venous system at rates greater than 100 mL/s can be fatal. Very large and symptomatic amounts of venous air emboli may also occur in rapid decompression in severe diving or decompression accidents, where they may interfere with circulation in the lungs and result in respiratory distress and hypoxia.Gas embolism in a systemic artery, termed arterial gas embolism (AGE), is a more serious matter than in a vein, because a gas bubble in an artery may directly stop blood flow to an area fed by the artery. The symptoms of AGE depend on the area of blood flow, and may be those of stroke for a cerebral arterial gas embolism (CAGE) or heart attack if the heart is affected. The amount of arterial gas embolism that causes symptoms depends on location — 2 mL of air in the cerebral circulation can be fatal, while 0.5 mL of air into a coronary artery can cause cardiac arrest. Prevention and screening
If a patent foramen ovale (PFO) is suspected, an examination by echocardiography may be performed to diagnose the defect. In this test, very fine bubbles are introduced into a patients vein by agitating saline in a syringe to produce the bubbles, then injecting them into an arm vein. A few seconds later, these bubbles may be clearly seen in the ultrasound image, as they travel through the patients right atrium and ventricle.
See also
Ebullism – Formation of gas bubbles in bodily fluids due to reduced environmental pressure

References
External links
Arterial Gas Embolism