Table 1.
—Subject Characteristics
| Characteristic | Total (N = 60) | Flight Participants (n = 34) | Survey-Only Participants (n = 26) |
| Age, y | 50 ± 13 | 49 ± 11 | 51 ± 14 |
| Sex | |||
| Female | 48 (80) | 28 (82) | 20 (77) |
| Race/ethnicity | |||
| White, non-Hispanic | 47 (78) | 30 (88) | 17 (65) |
| Black | 4 (7) | 1 (3) | 3 (11) |
| Hispanic | 4 (7) | 1 (3) | 3 (11) |
| Asian | 3 (5) | 2 (6) | 1 (4) |
| Other | 2 (3) | 0 (0) | 2 (8) |
| Cause of pulmonary hypertension | |||
| Idiopathic/heritable pulmonary arterial hypertension | 36 (60) | 21 (62) | 15 (58) |
| Associated pulmonary arterial hypertension | |||
| Connective tissue disease | 10 (17) | 6 (18) | 4 (15) |
| Portal hypertension | 1 (2) | 1 (3) | 0 (0) |
| Congenital heart disease | 3 (5) | 0 (0) | 3 (11) |
| Drug induced | 1 (2) | 1 (3) | 0 (0) |
| Other/unsure | 4 (7) | 2 (6) | 2 (8) |
| Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension | 5 (8) | 3 (9) | 2 (8) |
| WHO functional class | |||
| Class I | 5 (8) | 2 (6) | 3 (11) |
| Class II | 30 (50) | 16 (47) | 14 (54) |
| Class III | 24 (40) | 15 (44) | 9 (35) |
| Class IV | 1 (2) | 1 (3) | 0 (0) |
| Clinical dataa | |||
| 6-min walk distance (n = 21), m | … | 453 ± 115 | … |
| Estimated RVSP by echocardiogram (n = 22), mm Hg | … | 72 ± 42 | … |
| MPAP by right-sided heart catheterization (n = 19), mm Hg | … | 49 ± 15 | … |
| Pulmonary hypertension therapyb | |||
| IV/SQ prostacyclin | 16 (27) | 11 (32) | 5 (19) |
| Inhaled prostacyclin | 6 (10) | 5 (15) | 1 (4) |
| Endothelin receptor antagonist | 27 (46) | 16 (47) | 11 (44) |
| Phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor | 36 (61) | 21 (62) | 15 (60) |
| Combination therapy (≥ 2 classes) | 30 (51) | 20 (59) | 10 (40) |
Data are presented as No. (%) or mean ± SD. MPAP = mean pulmonary artery pressure; RVSP = right-sided ventricular systolic pressure; SQ = subcutaneous; WHO = World Health Organization.
a
Abstracted from subjects’ medical records.
b
Not reported for one subject.