Learning & research

Sotatercept, an activin signaling inhibitor for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), has demonstrated significant improvements in clinical outcomes though its off-target effects are still an area for discovery. Anecdotal increases in total body weight not attributable to fluid retention have been observed. 

In patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension, pressure-based right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF) estimated from routine right heart catheterisation correlated with RVEF from magnetic resonance imaging.

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a multifaceted disorder characterized by the crucial involvement of activated hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs). Recent investigations have unveiled HIFs' ability to orchestrate a wide array of signaling cascades, encompassing voltage-gated potassium channels, non-selective cation channels (NSCCs), Ca2+/PKC/MAPKs, PI3K/Akt, RhoA/ROCK, Notch, VEGF, and miRNA pathways.

Pulmonary hypertension caused by fibrosing mediastinitis (PH-FM) is a high-risk condition with limited validated tools for prognostic assessment. Although diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO) predicts outcomes in several cardiopulmonary diseases, its prognostic value in PH-FM remains unclear.

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a frequent complication of fibrotic interstitial lung diseases (ILDs), but its detection remains challenging due to overlapping clinical features. We aimed to evaluate the discriminatory power of physiological and exercise-based markers that differentiate right heart catheterization (RHC)—confirmed PH from low-probability ILD cases. 

Balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) has emerged as a guideline-recommended therapy for surgically inoperable chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). Lung injury occurs in approximately 6% of BPA sessions and is the leading cause of procedure-related mortality.

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are on the rise in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), with cardiovascular NCD accounting for most deaths. Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a highly morbid NCD; however, contemporary prevalence data are lacking.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) harboring the heterozygous ring finger protein 213 (RNF213) p.Arg4810Lys variant responds poorly to PAH treatment and has a poor prognosis. 

Right heart catheterization (RHC) and echocardiography are integral in the assessment of pulmonary hypertension (PH) and cardiac function for lung transplant (LT) candidates. However, the impact of these metrics on post-LT outcomes remains unclear.