Pulmonary hypertension: echocardiographic assessment

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a clinical condition characterized by elevated vascular resistance, associated with a poor prognosis and usually diagnosed in late stage. Echocardiographic assessment of PAH includes early disease detection and functional heart evaluation, in order to introduce a more accurate surveillance at an early stage of the disease and to contribute to prognostic stratification of advanced disease. Detection involves pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) estimation. There is no clear consensus on defining normal distribution, but a PASP of 36 mmHg has been widely assumed as a cut-off value for mild PAH, requiring a more aggressive surveillance to detect further progression. Functional heart evaluation requires an accurate characterization of morphologic and hemodynamic changes, secondary to PAH development, which involves description of dimensional parameters, ventricular interdependency, intracardiac flow patterns, and right ventricular systolic performance. A valid assessment of these issues results in a useful evaluation of cardiac function, supporting clinical context in defining heart failure condition.