OBJECTIVE To assess the efficacy of treatment with sildenafil monotherapy in patients with pulmonary hypertension. PATIENTS AND METHODS An observational study was undertaken in 11 patients with pulmonary hypertension in functional class II or III who received treatment with sildenafil (150 mg/day). Seven of the patients had inoperable chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension and 4 had pu...

Fatal haemopericardium occurred in a 14-year-old boy after rupture of a pulmonary artery aneurysm. Persistent ductus arteriosus with severe pulmonary hypertension was confirmed by cardiac catheterisation when he was 4 weeks old. Attempted closure of the ductus at 4 years had not been possible because of apparent high pulmonary resistance. Exercise tolerance had been good enough to permit compet...

introduction pulmonary hypertension is common among patients with hyperthyroidism, and graves’ disease constitutes the most common cause of thyrotoxicosis. case presentation we report the case of a female patient admitted to the cardiology department with shortness of breath and pretibial myxedema. the diagnostic work-up revealed combined pre- and post-capillary pulmonary hypertension due to gr...

OBJECTIVE Pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA) is the standard therapy for patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). In the immediate postoperative period, persistent pulmonary hypertension increases the risk of acute respiratory or right heart failure. In pulmonary arterial hypertension, prostanoid inhalation has been found to improve pulmonary hemodynamics, right ventricu...

AIMS To examine the hypothesis that right to left shunting occurs mainly in the lungs rather than through the fetal channels in neonates. METHODS Thirty two term babies requiring over 70% oxygen had daily colour Doppler echocardiograms until recovery. Measurements included left ventricular fractional shortening, right and left ventricular outputs, colour and pulsed Doppler ductal and atrial s...

Alveolar capillary dysplasia with misalignment of pulmonary veins (ACD/MPV) is a rare, fatal, developmental lung disorder, which usually presents as persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) unresponsive to treatment. The authors present their own experience with three cases admitted during the last 15 years.

To determine the effects of chronic intrauterine pulmonary hypertension on the perinatal pulmonary circulation, we induced chronic elevations of pulmonary artery pressure in 24 late-gestation fetal lambs by maintaining partial compression of the ductus arteriosus with an inflatable vascular occluder. Pulmonary artery pressure was increased from 44 +/- 1 to 62 +/- 3 mmHg for 3-14 d. Although lef...