Pulmonary Hypertension and Echocardiographic Findings

In this chapter, the topic of Pulmonary Hypertension is discussed. Theβ reader will know the causes of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension, the Pulmonary Venous Hypertension, the consequences of both, the hemodynamic changes caused by the conditions, the role of Echocardiogram in the diagnostic process, the different measurements, the Associated Findings, the symptoms and signs the patients present with and the treatment options. The importance of this chapter is in the fact that, unlike Systemic Hypertension, which is easily clinically diagnosed by checking the blood pressure of the patient, Pulmonary Hypertension being Right sided, is difficult to diagnose through simple clinical examinations. Many times, when the diagnosis is made, the patient is in an advanced stage (Irreversible Vascular Changes), and corrective action may not get translated to a better outcome. Trans Thoracic Echocardiogram (TTE) is a non-invasive way of diagnosing this condition at an early stage and treatment may yield better results regarding prognosis. Hence, clinical suspicion of this condition is extremely essential. Also discussed in this chapter, is the topic of Pulmonary Vascular Resistance (PVR). The factors that contribute to an increase in Pulmonary Vascular Resistance and factors that decrease Pulmonary Vascular Resistance are listed. An understanding of the Pulmonary Vascular Resistance is essential to an optimal management of Pulmonary Hypertension may it be Arterial or Venous.