The Validity of Echocardiographic Measurement of Mean Pulmonary Artery Pressure and Pulmonary Artery Acceleration Time in Assessment of Patients with Pulmonary Hypertension

Background and Objectives: Echocardiography plays a major role in detection of cardiovascular diseases as low-cost non-invasive method. The aim of this study was to assess the role of echocardiography measurements like pulmonary artery pressure and pulmonary artery acceleration time in diagnosis and severity assessment of pulmonary hypertension. Methods: An observational cross-sectional study was carried out in Erbil Cardiac Center and Rizgary Teaching Hospital in Erbil City-Kurdistan Region/Iraq within a five-year period from 1st of January, 2019 to 31st of December, 2023 on two hundred patients with pulmonary hypertension. Echocardiography was done by cardiologists. The right-side cardiac catheterization was implemented by interventional cardiologists, mostly pediatric, through the transfemoral vein using a multipurpose catheter. Results: A highly significant strong positive correlation was observed between echocardiography mean pulmonary artery pressure and mean pulmonary artery pressure measured by right side catheterization (r=0.96, p<0.001). There was a highly significant strong negative correlation between echocardiography mean pulmonary artery acceleration time and mean pulmonary artery pressure measured by right side catheterization (r=0.9, p<0.001). Conclusions: Echocardiography is useful method in screening of pulmonary hypertension by measuring means of pulmonary artery pressure and acceleration time.