Figure 2.
Algorithm for evaluation of dilated pulmonary artery (PA) in adult patients without interstitial lung disease. *We used the PA diameter cut-offs of 29 mm for men and 27 mm for women, following the upper limit of normal (90th percentile) proposed by the Framingham investigators (23). A ratio of main PA to aorta diameter cut-off of 0.9 is supported by the same study (23). A PA diameter cut-off of 33 mm and ratio of main PA to aorta diameter of greater than 1.1 had a specificity of 95 and 92%, respectively, for detecting pulmonary hypertension (PH) (24, 43). ^No recommendations are made regarding the frequency and method for follow-up, given the absence of data. Ao = aorta; BNP = brain natriuretic peptide; DlCO = diffusing capacity of carbon monoxide; RV = right ventricle; RVSP = right ventricle systolic pressure.