Title:Current Diagnostic Investigation in Pulmonary Hypertension
Volume: 9
Issue: 2
Author(s): Jenny Louise Bacon, Muhammad Shahid Peerbhoy, Ernest Wong, Rajan Sharma, Ioannis Vlahos, Agnieszka Crerar-Gilbert and Brendan Patrick Madden
Affiliation:
Keywords:
BNP, computed tomography, dual energy, echocardiography, lung function, preoperative investigation, pulmonary
hypertension, right heart catheterisation.
Abstract: Pulmonary hypertension refers to pathological elevation of the pulmonary arterial pressure and can be seen in a
variety of clinical conditions. It is progressive and ultimately fatal if untreated. Timely recognition and accurate diagnosis
are therefore paramount in providing effective management to patients so as to prevent, reduce or stabilise irreversible
damage to the pulmonary vasculature, which ultimately causes right heart failure. PH is often not considered or
misdiagnosed and a median time of 14 months from the onset of symptoms to diagnosis has been reported. As well as an
awareness of the condition it is imperative that physicians know how to correctly interpret a range of investigations that
are necessary in reaching the diagnosis.