Table 1. Characteristics of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension.
Sixteen subjects recruited for the reference (REF) cohort (13 women and 3 men) were aged 37 ± 11, BMI 22.7 ± 2.5 kg/m2 with no history of cardiopulmonary disease or PAH risk factors and with mPAP of 29. Age and BMI of the REF cohort were not different from those of the PAH cohort. Consecutive patients, with the appropriate clinical characteristics, were invited to participate in the studies. Among the recruited study subjects, four changed their mind and refused to enroll (all from the REF cohort), and one PAH subject did not return a sample after enrolling.
| Mean (SD) or Number (%) | |
|---|---|
| Age (years) | 39.5 (12.7) |
| Gender (male/female) | 3/16 |
| Race (white/other) | 18/1 |
| Weight (kg) | 65.2 (14.7) |
| Height (cm) | 160.7 (8.0) |
| Body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) | 25.3 (5.7) |
| PAH etiology (%) | |
| Idiopathic | 4 (21.1%) |
| Collagen vascular disease | 2 (10.5%) |
| HIV | 5 (26.3%) |
| Congenital heart disease with shunt | 7 (36.8%) |
| Portopulmonary hypertension | 1 (5.3%) |
| World Health Organization functional class (%) | |
| Class 1 | 9 (47.4%) |
| Class 2 | 5 (26.3%) |
| Class 3 | 3 (15.8%) |
| Class 4 | 2 (10.5%) |
| 6-minute walk distance (m) | 437 (89) |
| Echocardiographic data | |
| Transtricuspid gradient (mmHg) | 71 (27) |
| Systolic pulmonary arterial pressure (mmHg) | 76.4 (28.1) |
| Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (cm) | 17.5 (3.0) |
| Right ventricular diameter (M module, cm) | 3.4 (1.0) |
| Right heart catheterization | |
| Mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mmHg) | 57.4 (16.7) |
| Pulmonary artery occlusion pressure (mmHg) | 8.8 (4.3) |
| Cardiac output (L/minute) | 5.1 (2.0) |
| Pulmonary vascular resistance (Woods unit) | 11.5 (8.7) |
| Right Arterial Pressure (mmHg) | 8.8 (5.3) |
| Pulmonary arterial hypertension therapy | |
| None | 2 (10.5%) |
| Phosphodiesterese type 5 inhibitors | 16 (84.2%) |
| Endothelin antagonists | 7 (36.8%) |
| Prostanoids | 1 (5.3%) |