Table 2.

Patterns of pulmonary hypertension evaluation and treatment among U.S. Veterans by source of care

	VA Only (n = 33,323)	Medicare Only (n = 161,474)	Dual Care (n = 30,378)	P Value
PH Evaluation
Echocardiogram	30,797 (92.4)	142,530 (88.3)	27,556 (90.7)	<0.01
Risk ratio (95% CI)	Reference	0.96 (0.95–0.96)	0.98 (0.98–0.99)
RHC	6,456 (19.4)	36,995 (22.9)	9,241 (30.4)	<0.01
Risk ratio (95% CI)	Reference	1.18 (1.15–1.21)	1.57 (1.53–1.61)
$\stackrel{.}{\mathrm{V}}$/$\stackrel{.}{\mathrm{Q}}$ scan	9,005 (27.0)	21,146 (13.1)	6,812 (22.4)	<0.01
Risk ratio (95% CI)	Reference	0.48 (0.47–0.50)	0.83 (0.81–0.85)
PH Treatment
Pulmonary vasodilators	1,176 (3.5)	2,708 (1.7)	2,932 (9.7)	<0.01
Risk ratio (95% CI)	Reference	0.48 (0.44–0.51)	2.73 (2.56–2.92)
Receipt of treatment without confirmatory RHC	747 (2.2)	2,052 (1.3)	1,468 (4.8)	<0.01

Definition of abbreviations: CI = confidence interval; PH = pulmonary hypertension; RHC = right heart catheterization; $\stackrel{.}{\mathrm{V}}$/$\stackrel{.}{\mathrm{Q}}$ = ventilation-perfusion; VA = Veterans Health Administration.

Data presented as n (%) unless otherwise noted.