Posted on 04/12/2023 8:21:02 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
Pulmonary hypertension, or high blood pressure in the lungs, is a common complication of interstitial lung disease, an array of conditions that cause scarring of the lungs. Without treatment, it can be life-threatening. But currently, the only way to diagnose pulmonary hypertension definitively is through an invasive outpatient procedure called right heart catheterization, which measures pressures inside the heart and lungs using a small device inserted through a neck vein.
The study identified which variables were the strongest predictors of pulmonary hypertension. It also found a combination of variables could predict the condition with high accuracy.
In its latest study, the team enrolled patients who had been previously diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension through right heart catheterization. Then, they evaluated the correlation of several non-invasive measurable variables with a pulmonary hypertension diagnosis. Those measures included as six-minute walk distance, diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO) [measured through a pulmonary function test], greater forced vital capacity (FVC) [how much patient can forcibly exhale] to DLCO ratio, right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP) [measured through echocardiogram], and hemodynamics [pressure measurements].
The study revealed that two non-invasive variables in particular—gas exchange-derived pulmonary vascular capacitance [measured during exercise tests] and delta end-tidal carbon dioxide [measures cardiac output]—were the strongest in determining whether interstitial lung disease with pulmonary hypertension was present. Furthermore, using CART statistical analysis, the team found that the combination of gas exchange-derived pulmonary vascular capacitance, estimated right ventricular systolic pressure, and an elevated FVC to DLCO ratio can predict pulmonary hypertension in interstitial lung disease with high sensitivity and specificity.
Fortunately for patients with a pulmonary hypertension diagnosis, medications are effective in reducing poor outcomes and improving breathing and exercise tolerance. Because earlier use of medication results in better outcomes, the team hopes its work can help lead to faster and more efficient diagnoses.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
The important stuff to know:
“Two non-invasive variables in particular—gas exchange-derived pulmonary vascular capacitance [measured during exercise tests] and delta end-tidal carbon dioxide [measures cardiac output]—were the strongest in determining whether interstitial lung disease with pulmonary hypertension was present. Furthermore, using CART statistical analysis, the team found that the combination of gas exchange-derived pulmonary vascular capacitance, estimated right ventricular systolic pressure, and an elevated FVC to DLCO ratio can predict pulmonary hypertension in interstitial lung disease with high sensitivity and specificity.”
Your doctor can perform these much easier and more safely than heart catheterization. It should be cheaper, too.
I check my pulmonary hypertension at Walmart all the time
Is that a joke?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.