Divers routinely breathe >90% helium mixes with no ill effects provided they ascend and descend at the proper rates. I very much doubt that helium embolism is a real phenomenon at normal atmospheric pressures. More likely that article is just completely wrong based on misinterpreting postmortem changes.

If one is breathing helium directly from a pressurised tank, one can be inhaling it at higher than normal atmospheric pressure.

Divers control the pressure at which the diving gas is being delivered. A person who is breathing helium directly from a tank, either for misguided recreational reasons or with suicidal intent, is unlikely to be doing that.

The original suggestion – of adding helium to a room in order to damage iPhones – unless the room is pressurised, it is going to be at normal atmospheric pressure, so asphyxiation is a far greater risk than embolism. But, the point remains, inhaling helium is actually a lot more risky than many people think, sometimes it kills.

https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/...