Abstract
The usefulness of non-invasive estimation of pulmonary hypertension by echocardiography has been established for last 15 years. Two dimensional echocardiography demonstrates systolic flattening of the intraventricular septum in patients with pulmonary hypertension and the relationship between the degree of pulmonary artery pressure and geometric change in the left ventricle has been confirmed. However, pulsed and continuous-wave Doppler echocardiography now offer fascinating opportunities to assess right ventricular and pulmonary artery pressures non-invasively with accuracy, even for routine clinical practice. Several studies have demonstrated close relationship between non-invasive and invasive measurements of flow dynamics in the right ventricular outflow tract and in the pulmonary artery in patients with various forms of pulmonary hypertension. Doppler echocardiographic evidence of right ventricular systolic hypertension has been obtained by measuring the peak velocity of the tricuspid regurgitant jet and using the Bernouilli formula. The estimation of mean pulmonary artery pressure by pulsed Doppler technique or by continuous-wave Doppler detection of pulmonary regurgitation has been also designed. This paper describes the update information about the quantitative methods for estimating pulmonary hypertension by echocardiography and discusses their reliability. In addition, echocardiographic estimation of pulmonary capillary wedge pressure is also introduced.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 98-99 |
| Number of pages | 2 |
| Journal | Japanese Journal of Chest Diseases |
| Volume | 57 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Publication status | Published - 1998 Dec 1 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine