An IVC filter (inferior vena cava filter) is a type of surgical filter and medical device that is implanted by vascular surgeons or interventional radiologists into the large veins that carry blood from the body to the right atrium of the heart. The purpose of the IVC filter is to prevent a deadly condition called a pulmonary embolism (PE), or when a blood clot forms in the body, passes into the lungs, and causes serious injury, coma, or death.