Progress in cardiovascular diseases
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Prog Cardiovasc Dis · Mar 2015
ReviewClinical and research measurement techniques of the pulmonary circulation: the present and the future.
There has been a lot of progress in measurement techniques of the pulmonary circulation in recent years, and this has required updating of basic physiological knowledge. Pulmonary artery pressures (PAP) are normally low and dependent on left atrial pressure (LAP) and cardiac output (CO). Therefore, defining the functional state of the pulmonary circulation for the detection of pulmonary vascular disease or evaluation of disease progression requires measurements of PAP, LAP and CO. ⋯ Doppler echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging are coming close. Both approaches are performant for flow measurements, but pressures remain indirectly assessed from flow velocities and/or structural changes. Doppler echocardiography or magnetic resonance imaging has been shown to be accurate, allowing for valid population studies, but with insufficient precision for single number-derived clinical decision making.
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Prog Cardiovasc Dis · Mar 2015
ReviewThe effect of exercise training on the pulmonary arterial system in patients with pulmonary hypertension.
Given the unique and clinically ominous pathology associated with pulmonary arterial (PA) hypertension (PH) and its implications for the eventual deterioration of right ventricular function, exercise training (ET) was historically not recommended. More recently, a body of literature demonstrating the safety and efficacy of ET in PH has emerged. ⋯ Nevertheless, studies have consistently found ET leads to numerous clinically relevant benefits including increased: 1) aerobic capacity, 2) muscle strength, 3) exercise tolerance, and 4) quality of life. Thus, ET, given its clinical benefits, is likely to enjoy increased utilization in patients with PH.