Primary neoplasms of the pulmonary artery are extremely rare and usually are not recognized until autopsy. We present a case in which the correct preoperative diagnosis was established by cardiac catheterization. The hemodynamic and angiographic findings of sarcoma of the pulmonary artery are distinct and should not be overlooked in the evaluation of right ventricular outflow tract obstruction.

Eleven patients had right heart catheterization an average of 13 mo after total correction of tetralogy of Fallot, and the procedures were then repeated an average of 7 years postoperatively. In the intervening time there was generally no important change in the pressure gradient between the right ventricle and pulmonary artery or in right ventricular systolic pressure. Mean right atrial pressu...

BACKGROUND Hemodynamic monitoring using implantable devices may provide early warning of volume overload in patients with heart failure (HF). This study was designed to prospectively compare information from intrathoracic impedance monitoring and continuous right ventricular pressure measurements in patients with HF. METHODS AND RESULTS Sixteen patients with HF (age, 63.5+/-13.8 years; left v...

Hydralazine reduces pulmonary vascular resistance in patients with primary and secondary pulmonary hypertension, but the effects on right ventricular function of a change in resistance without a reduction in pulmonary arterial pressure are not known. We evaluated the hemodynamic effects of hydralazine, 50 mg, administered orally every 6 hours for 48 hours in 14 patients with right ventricular f...

OBJECTIVES The study objective was to assess the cardiac expression of interleukin-6 (IL6) and its receptor (IL6R) in advanced heart failure. BACKGROUND While IL6 plasma levels are elevated and associated with an impaired prognosis in advanced heart failure, little is known about the intracardiac expression of the IL6 system. METHODS Heart tissue was obtained from 20 patients (n=10, idiopat...

raphy 2005;22:305–14. 26. Fisher MR, Forfia PR, Chamera E, Housten-Harris T, Champion HC, Girgis RE et al. Accuracyof Dopplerechocardiography in the hemodynamic assessment of pulmonary hypertension. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2009;179:615–21. 27. Le Tourneau T, Deswarte G, Lamblin N, Foucher-Hossein C, Fayad G, Richardson M et al. Right ventricular systolic function in organic mitral regurgitati...

Ten subjects with normal hemodynamics were studied during elective cardiac catheterization with right and left heart multisensor micromanometry to assess hemodynamic responses to the Mueller maneuver. Simultaneous right and left circulatory hemodynamics and left ventricular, pulmonary arterial, and aortic pressures were recorded, in addition to pulmonary arterial and aortic flow velocities. Ste...

BACKGROUND In this study, we looked at the prognostic value of echocardiographic and hemodynamic measures in a large cohort of patients with precapillary pulmonary hypertension before and after initiation of treatment. METHODS AND RESULTS Data were collected prospectively in a cohort of consecutive patients with precapillary pulmonary hypertension referred between 2002 and 2011. A range of cl...

BACKGROUND A paradoxical inspiratory rise in right atrial pressure (in contrast to the normal fall during inspiration), Kussmaul sign, has been described in congestive heart failure (CHF). However, the clinical and hemodynamic characteristics and clinical outcomes of patients with CHF and Kussmaul physiology have not been studied. METHODS AND RESULTS This is a single-center study of consecuti...

Acute right coronary artery occlusion proximal to the right ventricular (RV) branches results in right ventricular free wall dysfunction, exerting mechanically disadvantageous effects on biventricular performance. Depressed RV systolic function decreases transpulmonary delivery of left ventricular (LV) preload, resulting in diminished cardiac output. The ischemic right ventricle is stiff, dilat...