Flow velocity patterns in the pulmonary artery and pulmonary hypertension

Abstract

Pulmonary hypertension impacts negatively on right ventricular function; however, understanding pulmonary vasculature can be difficult. Data from invasive monitoring or traditional echocardiography may not represent the full extent of pulmonary arterial disease. An important element missing from invasive monitoring is the ability to take into account the effects of pulsatile flow; therefore, mean pressures and mean flows are employed in the calculation of pulmonary vascular resistance. Traditional echocardiography yields right ventricular systolic pressures but only in the presence of tricuspid regurgitation. In these Perioperative Cardiovascular Rounds, we show the utility of interpreting p..