Pulmonary hypertension

Excerpt

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is not a disease per se, but comprises heterogeneous diseases as well as primary, secondary, and mixed etiologies. Several pulmonary and cardiac diseases are associated with PH. The joint 2022 Guidelines of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the European Respiratory Society (ERS) for the diagnosis and treatment of PH have again reinforced the notion that the definitions of PH are based on pressure values measured during invasive hemodynamic assessment by right heart catheterization, and cannot be based solely on echocardiographic evaluation [1, 2]. Currently, PH is defined by a mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP) of > 20 mm Hg at rest. Depending on pulmonary arterial wedge pressure (PAWP) and pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR), PH is divided into pre-capillary PH, isolated post-capillary PH, and combined pre-/post-capillary PH. …