Abstract
Pulmonary vascular disease is usually progressive and untreated has a poor prognosis. The natural history and course of the disease exhibits wide variation between individuals.
Patients with pulmonary hypertension present at any age with nonspecific symptoms including breathlessness (the most common symptom), syncope, tiredness, angina, and exercise-induced cough and nausea. The correct diagnosis is frequently delayed and bronchial asthma is the most frequent misdiagnosis. A chest radiograph (Fig. 10.1) and ECG (Fig. 10.2) will be abnormal in 80–90% of patients, and echocardiography is the first line of investigation in reaching a diagnosis in a patient where pulmonary hypertension is suspected or who has “unexplained” breathlessness.
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Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to the staff of the Cardiac Magnetic Resonance unit at the Royal Brompton Hospital for the magnetic resonance images shown in this chapter.
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© 2009 Springer-Verlag London Limited
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Simon, J., Gibbs, R., Stefanidis, A., Li, W. (2009). Pulmonary Hypertension Clinical Echocardiography. In: Nihoyannopoulos, P., Kisslo, J. (eds) Echocardiography. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84882-293-1_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84882-293-1_10
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