Abstract

BEVACQUA, Raúl J.  and  PERRONE, Sergio V.. Future advances in pulmonary arterial hypertension. Insuf. card. [online]. 2013, vol.8, n.4, pp.185-190. ISSN 1852-3862.

Over the last decade has witnessed extensive progress in basic and clinical research in the field of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). International PAH registries have achieved much to advance our understanding of the epidemiology, demographics, etiology, clinical course, hemodynamics, disease management and treatment outcomes of PAH. Therapies available to target the pathophysiology of PAH have expanded considerably and more options are expected in the near future. However, the long-term prognosis for patients with PAH remains poor. Recent evidence suggests that World Health Organization functional (WHO) class I or II patients have significantly better long-term survival rates than WHO functional class III-IV patients, thus providing a rationale for earlier diagnosis and treatment of PAH. However, early diagnosis is challenging and there is frequently a delay between symptom onset and diagnosis. Screening programs have an important role in PAH detection and expert opinion favours echocardiographic screening of asymptomatic patients who may be predisposed to the development of PAH.

Keywords : Early diagnosis; Pulmonary arterial hypertension; Screening.

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