The Relation between Pulmonary Hypertension Measured by Standard Transthoracic Echocardiography and T Wave and R Wave Alternans in Electrocardiogram.

Abstract

ulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a progressive disorder with a complex pathology. It initially involves mostly the right ventricle, and eventually to its distension, dysfunction, and symptomatic insufficiency (Morell et al., 2009). PAH was first identified by Ernst von Romberg in 1891. PAH exact frequency is unknown, but the yearly new cases are about 1,000 cases in the United States. Females are more often affected than males and typically between 20 and 60 years of age (Rubin, 2016). However there is modern disease-specific therapy, patients with PAH is still characterized by a high overall mortality. Independent mortality risk factors include clinical characteristics (age, World Health Organization functional class, 6-min walk distance, etiology, family history), hemodynamic parameters (left atrial pressure, pulmonary pressure), echocardiography findings (pleural effusion), and laboratory tests (brain natriuretic peptide) (Galiè et al., 2016).