Evaluating suspected pulmonary hypertension: A structured approach
ABSTRACT
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a common consideration when patients have unexplained signs of cardiopulmonary disease. Guidelines have been issued regarding diagnosis and management of this condition. Since multiple conditions can mimic components of PAH, the clinician should think about the patient’s total clinical condition before diagnosing and categorizing it. Proper evaluation and etiologic definition are crucial to providing the appropriate therapy. This review offers a case-based guide to the evaluation of patients with suspected PAH.
KEY POINTS
- PAH has nonspecific symptoms, largely attributable to right ventricular dysfunction but seen in a host of other common cardiopulmonary ailments.
- In a patient suspected of having pulmonary hypertension, it is important to take a methodic diagnostic approach to identify underlying contributors and minimize unnecessary testing.
- Patients suspected of having PAH should be referred to a pulmonary hypertension center of excellence for evaluation and right heart catheterization.
- Once testing is complete, therapy and management should be guided both by data obtained during the initial evaluation and by factors with prognostic significance. This approach has changed PAH from a disease with a grim outlook to one in which appropriate evaluation and guidance can improve patient outcomes.
RIGHT HEART CATHETERIZATION
Once the above-mentioned conditions have been evaluated, patients with suspected PAH should be referred to a pulmonary hypertension center of excellence to undergo right heart catheterization. If this test reveals PAH, further vasoreactivity testing should be performed if the etiology of the PAH is considered to be idiopathic, heritable, or drug-induced.1
Vasoreactivity is most commonly tested using 20 ppm of inhaled nitric oxide, but alternative formulations including intravenous epoprostenol, intravenous adenosine, or inhaled iloprost are acceptable. Patients who have a positive vasoreactive test usually respond well to high-dose calcium channel blocker therapy and have a significantly better prognosis than other patients with PAH.37
Patients with WHO group 1 PAH who do not have idiopathic, heritable, or drug-induced PAH have not been shown to have favorable outcomes using calcium channel blockers even if they have a positive vasoreactive response. A positive vasoreactive response is defined as a drop in mean pulmonary arterial pressure of at least 10 mm Hg to an absolute level of 40 mm Hg or less. Cardiac output should be preserved or elevated compared with baseline values during the challenge.1
In reality, only 10% to 15% of patients with idiopathic PAH have a positive vasoreactive response, and half of these patients stop responding within 1 year.38 Therefore, clinicians should not assume that calcium channel blockers will be successful in the long term in a vasoreactive patient, and these patients should have follow-up right heart catheterization after 3 to 6 months and annually thereafter to ensure continued vasoreactivity.1
In patients who are no longer vasoreactive or whose functional status is worse than New York Heart Association functional class I or II, conventional PAH-specific therapy should be started.
LOOKING FOR CAUSES OF ‘IDIOPATHIC’ PAH
Pulmonary hypertension is considered the final common pathway of many varied diseases and syndromes, and therefore one cannot say it is idiopathic without making a robust effort to identify features of alternative causes and rule out other contributing factors.
Although the exact etiology of idiopathic PAH is unclear, well-characterized imbalances in vascular homeostasis have been identified. These include processes that promote vasoconstriction, cell proliferation, and thrombosis (thromboxane A2, endothelin-1, and serotonin) and those that suppress prostacyclin, nitric oxide, and vasoactive intestinal peptide-mediated vasodilation.1 Furthermore, an abnormal angiogenic response to hypoxia and vascular endothelial growth factor has been observed.39
Before considering a diagnosis of idiopathic PAH, a careful history is essential. Other causative agents include appetite-suppressing medications, such as fenfluramine derivatives or stimulants such as amphetamines. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or hepatitis, a history of splenectomy, and prior thyroid or liver disease are also common causes of PAH. Joint pain, myalgias, Raynaud features, or a rash characteristic of connective tissue disease can be identified on history and physical examination. Worldwide, chronic exposure to high-altitude climates and exposure to schistosomiasis are significant causes of PAH, but are rarely seen in developed nations. Confirmatory serum tests for HIV, antinuclear antibody, scleroderma antibody, and thyroid function are essential.1
Genetic factors
If patients report having relatives with possible or probable PAH, genetic counseling is recommended, particularly for rare but causative gene mutations.
BMPR2, the gene that codes for the bone morphogenetic protein receptor type 2, can carry mutations with variable penetrance over the patient’s lifetime depending on other genetic polymorphisms, concurrent inflammation, and the patient’s sex.40
The population carrier estimates of BMPR2 mutations are only 0.001% to 0.01%, but mutations in this gene are identified in approximately 25% of nonfamilial PAH patients and in over 75% of those with a familial inheritance pattern. The BMPR2 protein is a part of the transforming growth factor beta family and is partially responsible for control of vascular cell proliferation. Mutations in this gene lead to PAH at a younger age than in those with mutation-negative idiopathic PAH and to a more severe clinical phenotype in terms of pulmonary vascular resistance and cardiac function.40
Other mutations. Although BMPR2 is the most commonly identified gene mutation in patients with PAH, other gene mutations within this family have also been recognized. These include mutations in the genes for activin receptor-like kinase 1 and endoglin, which, although better known for their association with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia, can lead directly to PAH.40
More recently, a novel autosomal recessive gene mutation in eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 alpha kinase 4 (EIF2AK4) has been identified in patients with pulmonary veno-occlusive disease41 and pulmonary capillary hemangiomatosis,42 which are specific subclasses of WHO group 1 PAH. The mechanistic parallels between EIF2AK4 and these diseases are not clear, but the prevalence of disease in those with a familial inheritance pattern and an EIF2AK4 mutation is nearly 100%.41 Thus, identification of this mutation has been accepted as a way to confirm pulmonary veno-occlusive disease and pulmonary capillary hemangiomatosis in patients suspected of PAH with features of these diseases.43,44
GROUP 5: MISCELLANEOUS FORMS OF PULMONARY HYPERTENSION
WHO group 5 pulmonary hypertension encompasses disorders whose pathophysiology does not fit neatly within the context of the other pulmonary hypertension subtypes. Nonetheless, appreciation of these disorders is important in determining the etiology and appropriate therapy for patients with pulmonary hypertension. The mechanism driving abnormal pulmonary arterial pressures in patients with group 5 pulmonary hypertension is not always clear and may involve intrinsic or extrinsic factors.1
Diseases within group 5 include those that cause extrinsic compression of the pulmonary arteries (ie, fibrosing mediastinitis) or intrinsic elevations in pulmonary vascular resistance (sarcoidosis, pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis, sickle cell anemia, polycythemia vera, and malignancy).
The most common cause of pulmonary hypertension in this category is sarcoidosis. Current theories suggest that, for most patients, invasion of granulomatous inflammation within the arterial walls induces PAH via fibrotic or inflammatory vascular occlusion. Extrinsic compression due to lymphadenopathy, right or left ventricular dysfunction due to cardiac myocite infiltration, and endothelin-induced pulmonary vasoconstriction are other possible links between the PAH and sarcoidosis.45
