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REVIEW article

Front. Cardiovasc. Med.
Sec. General Cardiovascular Medicine
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2024.1439402
This article is part of the Research Topic The Right Heart: A Key Target for Cardiovascular Medicine View all 4 articles

Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension: the diagnostic assessment

Provisionally accepted
Beatrice Simeone Beatrice Simeone 1*Enrico Maggio Enrico Maggio 2Leonardo Schirone Leonardo Schirone 3Erica Rocco Erica Rocco 1Gianmarco Sarto Gianmarco Sarto 1Luigi Spadafora Luigi Spadafora 1Marco Bernardi Marco Bernardi 1Luca D. Ambrosio Luca D. Ambrosio 4Maurizio Forte Maurizio Forte 3Daniele Vecchio Daniele Vecchio 4Valentina Valenti Valentina Valenti 5Sebastiano Sciarretta Sebastiano Sciarretta 3,4Dario Vizza Dario Vizza 6
  • 1 ICOT Istituto Marco Pasquali, Latina, Italy
  • 2 Department of Clinical Internal, Anesthesiological and Cardiovascular Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Sicily, Italy
  • 3 IRCCS Neuromed, Pozzilli (IS), Italy, Pozzilli, Italy
  • 4 Department of Medical-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Latina, Italy, Latina, Italy
  • 5 Hospital Santa Maria Goretti, Latina, Italy
  • 6 Department of Cardiovascular and Respiratory Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Sicily, Italy

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension (CTEPH) presents a significant diagnostic challenge due to its complex and often nonspecific clinical manifestations. This review outlines a comprehensive approach to the diagnostic assessment of CTEPH, emphasizing the importance of a high index of suspicion in patients with unexplained dyspnea or persistent symptoms post-acute pulmonary embolism. We discuss the pivotal role of multimodal imaging, including echocardiography, ventilation/perfusion scans, CT pulmonary angiography, and magnetic resonance imaging, in the identification and confirmation of CTEPH. Furthermore, the review highlights the essential function of right heart catheterization in validating the hemodynamic parameters indicative of CTEPH, establishing its definitive diagnosis. Advances in diagnostic technologies and the integration of a multidisciplinary approach are critical for the timely and accurate diagnosis of CTEPH, facilitating early therapeutic intervention and improving patient outcomes. This manuscript aims to equip clinicians with the knowledge and tools necessary for the efficient diagnostic workflow of CTEPH, promoting awareness and understanding of this potentially treatable cause of pulmonary hypertension.

    Keywords: pulmonary hypertension, Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH), rare disease, diagnosis, Narrative review

    Received: 27 May 2024; Accepted: 28 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Simeone, Maggio, Schirone, Rocco, Sarto, Spadafora, Bernardi, Ambrosio, Forte, Vecchio, Valenti, Sciarretta and Vizza. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Beatrice Simeone, ICOT Istituto Marco Pasquali, Latina, Italy

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.