DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2017.v05i11.069

Pages: 4661-4665

Pulmonary hypertension is one of the devastating disorders of the cardiovascular system. It is associated with poor survival and considerable morbidity. There is no single causative factor and it may represent the final common pathway for many systemic diseases. So it is of high importance to recognize the presentation of patients with symptoms suggestive of pulmonary hypertension and treat at the earliest. To study the epidemiological, clinical and echocardiographic profile of pulmonary hypertension. This was a prospective hospital based descriptive study. Patients presenting with symptoms suggestive of pulmonary hypertension were screened using detailed clinical proforma. Clinical examination was carried out in such patients followed by blood tests, chest radiography and ECG. Echocardiography was done in those patients and diagnosis was confirmed. The 52 cases, males constitute 65.4% and females constitute 34.6% (n=18). In our study, majority of cases presented with NYHA functional class 2, 3 and 4 symptoms. Dyspnoea on exertion was the most common presentation. Hypertension (42.3%) and Type 2 Diabetes mellitus (44.2%) were present in majority of cases. Of the personal habits, smoking (65.4%) was present in majority of cases. The common clinical findings were elevated JVP (88.5%), pitting pedal oedema (86.5%), palpable S2 (71.2%) and left parasternal heave (42.3%). Common auscultatory findings included loud P2 (98%), audible TR (50%), and RVS4 (50%). 63.5% cases had right ventricular systolic dysfunction and 8.1% had severe PAH (>60 mm Hg). This study provides information on the clinical, epidemiological and echocardiographic features of pulmonary hypertension in the subcontinent. Some findings are quite similar to the western data but some interesting observations have also emerged. There remains a need to spread awareness about pulmonary hypertension among the physicians since the diagnosis is usually missed in the early stages. The delayed diagnosis hampers the