Assessment of pulmonary artery hypertension by Doppler echocardiography and its correlation with right heart catheterization

Abstract

Background: Definitive diagnosis of pulmonary artery hypertension (PH) requires an elevated mean pulmonary arterial pressure (MPAP) of 25 mmHg at rest measured by right heart catheterization (RHC). As it is invasive mode of investigation, it is declined by many patients, echocardiography was thought to be an acceptable substitute to assess pulmonary arterial pressures. Whether there is a correlation between these measurements is controversial. The aim of this study was to assess PH by echocardiography and its correlation with RHC.Methods: Twenty-six patients aged ≥18 years with pulmonary artery hypertension with or without tricuspid regurgitation (TR) were included in this cross-sectional study. All the patients underwent a transthoracic echocardiography evaluation and were taken for RHC study within an hour.Results: The correlation between pulmonary artery acceleration time (PAAT) and pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) and PAAT and MPAP was significant in all degrees of PH. In contrast, correlation between TR jet maximum velocity (TR Vmax) derived estimated pulmonary artery systolic pressure (EPASP) and PASP was significant in moderate and severe PH, while it did not correlate in mild PH.Conclusions: PAAT is easily measurable parameter and strongly correlates with the values of PASP and the MPAP obtained by right heart catheterization. Implementation of a novel method of determining EPASP from PAAT shall increase significantly the number of patients in whom TTE can be used for the assessment of pulmonary hemodynamic non-invasively.