Diagnosis of Pulmonary Hypertension

This Harvard Medical School Continuing Education video examines these key questions: Can you identify the common symptoms of pulmonary hypertension? What diagnostic tools are best for diagnosing pulmonary hypertension? How is right heart catheterization used in classifying pulmonary hypertension categories? Dr. Jenna McNeill, MD, faculty at Massachusetts General Hospital, reviews clinical diagnostic tools including physical exams, EKGs, chest X-rays, and transthoracic echocardiograms (TTE) and the findings that suggest pulmonary hypertension. The role of right heart catheterization in confirming the diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension and categorizing pre-capillary, post-capillary, and combined pre- and post-capillary pulmonary hypertension is also explained. 00:00 | Introduction 00:25 | Symptoms and diagnostic tools 03:52 | The role of right heart catheterization 07:20 | Interpreting right heart catheterization This video was peer reviewed by Dr. Jonathan Salik, TMD, MHPEd, Instructor of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital; and Dr. Sugantha Sundar, MD, Assistant Professor of Anesthesia, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, to validate the quality and accuracy of the content. References: McLaughlin VV, Archer SL, Badesch DB, et al. American College of Cardiology Foundation Task Force on Expert Consensus, A. American Heart, P. American College of Chest, I. American Thoracic Society and A. Pulmonary Hypertension. ACCF/AHA 2009 expert consensus document on pulmonary hypertension a report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation Task Force on Expert Consensus Documents and the American Heart Association developed in collaboration with the American College of Chest Physicians; American Thoracic Society, Inc.; and the Pulmonary Hypertension Association. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2009;53(17): 1573-1619.  Augustine DX, Coates-Bradshaw LD, Willis J, et al. Echocardiographic assessment of pulmonary hypertension: a guideline protocol from the British Society of Echocardiography. Echo Res Pract. 2018;5(3):G11-G24.  Rich JD, Shah SJ, Swamy RS, Kamp A, Rich S. Inaccuracy of Doppler echocardiographic estimates of pulmonary artery pressures in patients with pulmonary hypertension: implications for clinical practice. Chest. 2011;139(5):988-993.  Notice: At this time, the content in this video is not accredited."