Pulmonary Hypertension

Question 1

What are the common causes of pulmonary hypertension?

Answer 1

secondary causes due to:

Lung disease
Heart disease
Thromboembolic disease
Vascular disease
Liver disease

and Primary causes due to:

when no other causes can be found

Question 2

What are some common contributing factors for pulmonary hypertension?

Answer 2

primary and secondary factors

Primary

• Rare
• Female > Male
• Age 20-40 years
• Hereditary tendency
• Usually die within 5 years of diagnosis

Secondary

• Existing cardiac or pulmonary disease
• -Mitral valve disease
• -COPD

Question 3

what is pruning?

Answer 3

● Re-distribution of flow in the lungs from central to peripheral such that the peripheral vessels appear too small for the size of the central vessels from which they come.

Question 4

what is the “Honeymoon Period” for pulmonary hypertension? what happens during this time?

Answer 4

the time during which pulmonary hypertension is present but the subject exhibits few, if any, symptoms.

It is during this time that compensatory hypertrophy of the right ventricle occurs in an effort to maintain cardiac output in the presence of increased pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR)

Question 5

What do you expect to find with a transesophageal echocardiogram?

Answer 5

• Abnormal right ventricular systolic function
• Tricuspid regurgitation
• Leftward displacement of the interventricular septum (septal flattening)
• Decreased left ventricular size
• Abnormal left ventricular systolic and diastolic function
• Right atrial and right ventricular enlargement
• Larger shadow of pulmonary arteries