title: Evaluation of pulmonary arterial hypertension.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is defined as a group of diseases characterized by a progressive increase of pulmonary vascular resistance leading to right ventricular failure and premature death. The purpose of this review is to analyze the current knowledge of the evaluation of PAH patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Recently, the diagnostic approach has been more clearly defined according to the new clinical classification and with consensus reached on algorithms of various investigative tests and procedures that exclude other causes and ensure an accurate diagnosis of PAH. The diagnostic procedures include clinical history and physical examination, ECG, chest radiography, transthoracic Doppler echocardiography, pulmonary function tests, arterial blood gases, ventilation and perfusion lung scan, high-resolution CT of the lung, contrast-enhanced spiral CT of the lung and pulmonary angiography, blood tests and immunology, abdominal ultrasound scan, exercise capacity assessment, and hemodynamic evaluation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Invasive and noninvasive markers of disease severity, either biomarkers or physiologic parameters and tests that can be widely applied, have been proposed to reliably diagnose PAH and monitor the clinical course.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cardiology, University of Bologna, Italy. n.galie@bo.nettuno.it
authors.forename: Nazzareno
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Galiè
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Manes
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Branzi
mesh_terms: D004562:Electrocardiography; D006801:Humans; D006976:Hypertension, Pulmonary / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011379:Prognosis; D011651:Pulmonary Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D011859:Radiography; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D014463:Ultrasonography