Clinically, there is a group of patients with elevated pulmonary arterial pressure in whom the underlying cause is not apparent. The pulmonary arterial wedge pressure is not elevated. For such cases, the designation of primary pulmonary hypertension may be made clinically. From the clinical categorization of primary pulmonary hypertension, three distinct pathologic entities emerge, namely 1) pl...

Pulmonary syndromes in the setting of hepatic disease with portal hypertension include portopulmonary hypertension (POPH), hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) and hepatic hydrothorax. POPH is defined as pulmonary arterial hypertension with portal hypertension in the absence of other causes of pulmonary arterial hypertension. HPS is a defect in arterial oxygenation as a result of pulmonary micro vasc...

background: vitamin d (vit d) is linked to various conditions including musculoskeletal, metabolic and   cardiopulmonary diseases. however, it is not clear whether correction of vit d deficiency exerts any beneficial effect in patients with pulmonary hypertension. methods: this study was a prospective uncontrolled longitudinal study. patients with pulmonary hypertension and vit d deficiency wer...

OBJECTIVE The pulmonary vascular targeted treatment for systemic lupus erythematosus-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension is similar to other connective tissue disease-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension. In addition, there also appears to be a role for immunosuppression in the overall management. However, the optimal immunosuppressive regimen and what patients will respond to trea...

A case of pulmonary arterial hypertension in a patient with type-Ia glycogen-storage disease, a rare autosomal recessive disorder caused by a deficiency of glucose-6-phosphatase is reported in this study. It has been suggested that the occurrence of pulmonary arterial hypertension in type-Ia glycogen-storage disease could be due to an abnormal production of vasoconstrictive amines such as serot...

Porto-pulmonary hypertension is a known complication of liver cirrhosis but its association with noncirrhotic portal hypertension patients is rare. We report a case of pulmonary hypertension in a patient with noncirrhotic portal hypertension and scleroderma sine scleroderma. The two latter conditions have been shown to be independently associated with pulmonary arterial hypertension. DLCO is ex...

OBJECTIVE Loss-of-function mutations in genes coding for transforming growth factor-beta/bone morphogenetic protein receptors and changes in nitric oxide(*) (NO(*)) bioavailability are associated with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia and some forms of pulmonary arterial hypertension. How these abnormalities lead to seemingly disparate pulmonary pathologies remains unknown. Endoglin (Eng), ...

PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF PULMONARY ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION IS BASED ON THREE BASIC MECHANISMS: thrombotic pulmonary vascular lesions, vasoconstriction and vascular remodeling. Platelets are related to all of these mechanisms by their aggregation, production, storage and release of several mediators. The role of platelets is more prominent in some types of pulmonary arterial hypertension, including thos...

Pulmonary arterial hypertension is a progressive disorder in which endothelial dysfunction and vascular remodeling obstruct small pulmonary arteries, resulting in increased pulmonary vascular resistance and pulmonary pressures. This leads to reduced cardiac output, right heart failure, and ultimately death. In this review, we attempt to answer some important questions commonly asked by patients...

BACKGROUND Pulmonary capillary hemangiomatosis is a rare, vascular obstructive disorder that uniformly causes pulmonary arterial hypertension. Clinically, pulmonary capillary hemangiomatosis is indistinguishable from primary pulmonary arterial hypertension and histology is required for definitive diagnosis. The distinctive histologic feature of pulmonary capillary hemangiomatosis is non-maligna...