Pulmonary artery hypertension (29)

Pulmonary hypertension

Pulmonary arterial hypertension is restricted to those with a hemodynamic profile in which high pulmonary pressure is a result of elevated precapillary pulmonary resistance and normal pulmonary venous pressure which is measured as a pulmonary wedge pressure of 15 mmHg or less.

Definition:

Resting mean pulmonary artery pressure of 25 mm Hg or more at catheterization of right heart.

This is the hemodynamic feature which is shared by all types of pulmonary hypertension in Dana point classification system.

CLASSIFICATION OF PULMONARY HYPERTENSION

Pulmonary hypertension resulting from heart disease (group 2) implies an increase in pulmonary arterial pressure due to backward transmission of pressure elevation.

Precapillary pulmonary hypertension such as that resulting from lung disease is group 3.

Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension is group 4.

Disease resulting from multifactorial mechanisms is group 5.

Important point to note is that, PAH due to congenital heart diseases comes in group 1 of Dana point classification.