eMedicine Specialties > Pulmonology > Pulmonary Hypertension
Pulmonary Hypertension, Secondary: Differential Diagnoses & Workup
Updated: Aug 21, 2009
- Overview
- Differential Diagnoses & Workup
- Treatment & Medication
- Follow-up
- Multimedia
Differential Diagnoses
Workup
Laboratory Studies
Arterial blood gas determinations should be performed in pulmonary hypertension (PH) patients to assess for hypoxemia.
- A collagen-vascular disease screening should be performed. This includes measuring the erythrocyte sedimentation rate, rheumatoid factor levels, and antinuclear antibody levels.
- Synthetic liver function test results (ie, albumin levels, prothrombin time, bilirubin levels) may indicate liver disease associated with portal hypertension.
- HIV testing and hepatology serology tests should be performed on patients at risk.
- A complete blood cell count, biochemistry panel, prothrombin time, and activated partial thromboplastin time should be performed at baseline.
Imaging Studies
- Chest radiography
- The classic finding on a chest radiograph from a patient with pulmonary arterial hypertension is enlargement of central pulmonary arteries, attenuation of peripheral vessels, and oligemic lung fields.
- Findings of right ventricular and right atrial dilatation are possible.
Chest radiograph of a patient with secondary pulmonary hypertension shows enlarged pulmonary arteries. This patient had an atrial septal defect.
A 54-year-old woman with history of scleroderma (CREST variety, ie, calcinosis cutis, Raynaud phenomenon, esophageal motility disorder, sclerodactyly, and telangiectasia) developed dyspnea that worsened upon exertion. Images from a high-resolution CT scan of the lungs showed no parenchymal disease. The patient was found to have severe pulmonary arterial hypertension.
- Two-dimensional echocardiography
- Signs of chronic right ventricular pressure overload are present, which include increased thickness of the right ventricle with paradoxical bulging of the septum into the left ventricle during systole.
- In later stages, right ventricular dilatation occurs, leading to right ventricular hypokinesis.
- Right atrial dilatation and tricuspid regurgitation are also present.
- Doppler echocardiography
- Doppler echocardiography is the most reliable noninvasive method to estimate pulmonary arterial pressure.
- Tricuspid regurgitation is usually present in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension, which aids measurement of pulmonary artery pressure when using the modified Bernoulli equation. The efficacy of Doppler echocardiography depends on the ability to adequately locate the tricuspid regurgitant jet. Furthermore, acoustic windows may be limited in patients who have other diseases (eg, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD]) or in those who are obese.
- Tricuspid regurgitation is generally detected in more than 90% of patients with severe SPAH, and a correlation of greater than 95% is observed when the pressure is measured using catheterization. Doppler echocardiography is a useful noninvasive test for long-term follow-up.
Other Tests
- Electrocardiography
- Signs of right ventricular hypertrophy or strain may be observed.
- These include right axis deviation, an R-to-S wave ratio greater than 1 in lead V1, increased P-wave amplitude, and an incomplete or complete right bundle-branch block pattern.
- Ventilation perfusion lung scanning
- Ventilation perfusion scan should be performed to exclude chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. A high- or low-probability scan result is most useful, whereas intermediate-probability results should lead to performing pulmonary angiography.
- Diffuse mottled perfusion can be observed in patients with primary pulmonary hypertension, as opposed to segmental or subsegmental mismatched defects observed in patients with SPAH.
A ventilation/perfusion scan of bilateral mismatched segmental and subsegmental defects, suggesting chronic thromboembolic hypertension.
- Pulmonary function testing
- Pulmonary function tests (ie, spirometry and diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide) should be performed in patients with SPAH to exclude an underlying pulmonary disorder. Diffusing capacity is universally reduced in patients with pulmonary hypertension.
- These tests may show an obstructive pattern suggestive of COPD or a restrictive pattern suggestive of an interstitial lung disease. Furthermore, the severity of the lung disorder may be established by pulmonary function test findings because they provide both the qualitative and quantitative data.
Procedures
- Right-sided heart catheterization
- Right-sided heart catheterization is the criterion standard test for the diagnosis, quantification, and characterization of pulmonary arterial hypertension. Left-sided heart dysfunction and intracardiac shunts can be excluded, and the cardiac output can be measured.
- The indications for this procedure are (1) difficulty with the accurate measurement of pulmonary arterial hypertension with Doppler echocardiography and (2) the need for a precise measurement of pulmonary vascular resistance to conduct a vasodilator trial to assess the acute response to vasodilators.
- Acute vasoreactivity is determined by administering a short-acting vasodilator such as prostacyclin, inhaled nitric oxide, or adenosine. An acute response often predicts a beneficial effect from oral agents, such as calcium channel blockers.12
This left pulmonary arterial angiogram shows large central pulmonary arteries and attenuation of peripheral vessels, but thrombosis cannot be identified because it has organized along the vessel walls.
Bilateral angiogram should be performed in patients suggested to have chronic thromboembolic pulmonary arterial hypertension. This right pulmonary arterial angiogram from the patient in Media File 8 again shows no evidence of a filling defect, therefore excluding acute thrombosis. Angioscopy is a potentially useful procedure in this setting.
Histologic Findings
The histopathologic lesions in patients with secondary pulmonary hypertension are similar to those observed in patients with primary pulmonary hypertension. These pathological changes are the result of long-standing hypertension rather than a consequence of different causes.
The plexiform lesion is observed in patients with all types of pulmonary arterial hypertension. These lesions consist of medial hypertrophy, eccentric or concentric laminar intimal proliferation and fibrosis, fibrinoid degeneration, and thrombotic lesions. Fresh or organized and recanalized thrombi may also be present. Diverse types of intimal and muscular lesions of the small muscular arteries may cause the clinical syndrome of pulmonary hypertension, and a plexiform lesion reflecting the abrupt onset of pulmonary hypertension is likely, rather than the lesion being a distinctive cause.
More on Pulmonary Hypertension, Secondary |
| Overview: Pulmonary Hypertension, Secondary |
Differential Diagnoses & Workup: Pulmonary Hypertension, Secondary |
| Treatment & Medication: Pulmonary Hypertension, Secondary |
| Follow-up: Pulmonary Hypertension, Secondary |
| Multimedia: Pulmonary Hypertension, Secondary |
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Further Reading
Keywords
secondary pulmonary artery hypertension, SPAH, pulmonary artery hypertension, pulmonary arterial hypertension, PAH, cardiac disorders, pulmonary disorders, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD, high-altitude disorders, hypoventilation disorders, obstructive sleep apnea, OSA, collagen-vascular diseases, systemic scleroderma, CREST syndrome, calcinosis cutis, Raynaud phenomenon, esophageal motility disorder, sclerodactyly, telangiectasia, left-sided heart disorders, atrial septal defects, ventricular septal defects










Differential Diagnoses & Workup: Pulmonary Hypertension, Secondary