Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension

PubMed, the Internet portal of biomedical and life sciences literature, indexed an interesting article, entitled “Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension.” (Semin Thromb Hemost. 2006 Nov;32(8):848-55). Authors are Piovella F, D`armini AM, Barone M, et al., from the IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, Italy. Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is a rare disease that results from obstruction of the major pulmonary arteries by incompletely resolved or organized pulmonary emboli that have become incorporated into the pulmonary artery wall, eventually causing an increase in pulmonary vascular resistance. From 0.1 to 4.0% of patients recovering from acute pulmonary embolism develop CTEPH. Without intervention, CTEPH is a progressive and lethal disease for which there is no effective medical therapy. Pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA) is the treatment of choice. Careful pre- and postoperative management is essential for a successful outcome after PEA. Lung transplantation is indicated only in few cases when PEA is not feasible. To access the full abstract of the article, click here.