Prognostic Value of Acute Vasodilator Response In Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: Beyond The ‘Classic’ Responders

摘要

BackgroundA classic response to acute vasodilator testing (drop of > 10mmHg in mean pulmonary artery pressure [mPAP] to < 40mmHg) confers an excellent prognosis in patients with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) and identifies candidates for treatment with calcium channel blockers (CCB). Little is known about vasodilator responsiveness (VR) in other types of PAH, or about outcomes in patients with a significant but non-classic decrease in mPAP. We hypothesized that VR occurs in non-idiopathic PAH and ‘non-classic’ VR portends a better prognosis than no VR in PAH.