Measurement and correlation of mean pulmonary artery pressure calculated by different Doppler echocardiographic methods in patients with moderate-to-severe pulmonary hypertension
Amal Sasidharan, Mukundan Chelakkat, Chakkalakal Prabhakaran Karunadas, Satheesan PraveenAbstract
Background:
Doppler echocardiography using tricuspid regurgitation (TR) velocity is the standard noninvasive technique for estimating mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP). However, TR-based assessment may be unreliable in certain clinical settings. This study aimed to evaluate pulmonary acceleration time (PAT) and peak pulmonary regurgitation (PR) velocity as alternative echocardiographic parameters for mPAP estimation.
Materials and Methods:
This prospective cross-sectional study included 40 patients with moderate-to-severe pulmonary hypertension (PH) who underwent clinical evaluation, electrocardiography, and echocardiography. Mean pulmonary artery pressure was estimated using TR velocity, PR velocity, and PAT. Correlations among these methods were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation test.
Results:
The mean age of the participants was 53.8 ± 15.2 years, with a predominance of females (62.5%). PR-derived mPAP demonstrated a strong positive correlation with TR-derived mPAP (
Conclusion:
Peak PR velocity showed good agreement with TR-derived mPAP and may serve as a reliable alternative when TR measurements are inadequate. Although PAT demonstrated a weaker correlation, it proved useful in identifying severe PH, particularly in the presence of RV dysfunction. The combined application of these echocardiographic parameters may improve the noninvasive evaluation of PH.