Cor Vasa 2011, 53(8-9):486-489 | DOI: 10.33678/cor.2011.119

Two years of cooperation between Regional Cardiology Centre and the Centre for Pulmonary Hypertension: results

Daniel Foldyna^1,*, Pavel Jansa², Tomáš Snížek³, Zdeněk Klimsa¹

¹ Kardiovaskulární centrum, Nemocnice Jihlava

² Centrum pro plicní hypertenzi, II. interní klinika kardiologie a angiologie, 1. lékařská fakulta Univerzity Karlovy a Všeobecné fakultní nemocnice, Praha

³ Plicní oddělení, Nemocnice Jihlava, Česká republika

Introduction: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a syndrome characterized by increased mean pulmonary artery pressure. It occurs as a part of many different heart and lung conditions but also as a consequence of primary disorder of pulmonary vessels. The prognosis of chronic PH is extraordinarily poor and, without timely treatment, the illness rapidly progresses to right-sided heart failure and death. We present a series of patients with PH resulting from two years of cooperation between our Regional Cardiology Centre and the Centre for Pulmonary Hypertension at the General Faculty Hospital, Prague. This series documents in part the epidemiologic situation concerning pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH) in the Vysočina region.

Patients and methods: Between 2009 and 2010, 6244 transthoracic echocardiographic examinations were performed in the Jihlava Cardiology Centre; 17 of the examined patients were referred to the expert centre. The major criterion for detailed evaluation was the presence of echocardiographic parameters of PH with an estimated pulmonary systolic pressure at rest above 35-40 mmHg after exclusion of postcapillary PH etiology.

Results: The series comprises 17 patients (53% men and 47% women; mean age of 61.2 ± 13.4 years). The diagnosis of PH was confirmed in all patients, with the mean pulmonary artery pressure 43.3 ± 10.6 mmHg. Mean 6 Minute Walk Test result was 321 ± 98 m. Mean BNP level in our series at diagnosis was 636 ± 403 ng/l. No patient was classified as NYHA I; 4, 11 and 2 patients (23.5%, 64.7%, 11.8%) were classified as NYHA II, III and IV, respectively. The most common etiologies were PAH (10 patients) and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (4 patients). Estimated minimal prevalence of PAH is about 20 cases per million inhabitants.

Conclusion: Two years of experience with PH evaluation in our Regional Cardiology Centre underscores the need of systematic screening for PH and of regular follow-up of the affected patients. Better prognosis of PH is critically dependent on earlier and more precise diagnosis at all levels of care for these patients.

Keywords: Pulmonary hypertension; Echocardiographic diagnosis; Regional Cardiology Centre

Published: August 1, 2011  Show citation