Pulmonary Hypertension: A Common Complication of Left Heart Disease

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) commonly results as a complication of left heart failure (systolic or nonsystolic dysfunction). It is important to note that there is a distinct difference between PH as a whole and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), which have the same criteria with regard to mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) as PAH with the critical difference of the pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP) measurement. Table 1 shows the most common causes of RV dysfunction. The issue of management of right ventricular (RV) failure has recently become more important with increased awareness of RV failure symptoms in the setting of PH. Moreover, with growing consideration for surgical left ventricular support (left ventricular assist device, LVAD) and the need for RV functional competence, the need to better understand the role of RV function is becoming more paramount.