Pulmonary artery sarcoma masquerading as chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension.
BACKGROUND
A 40-year-old woman presented with dyspnea in the fifth month of pregnancy followed by a sudden onset of pleuritic chest pain 2 weeks postpartum. She was diagnosed as having pulmonary embolism by CT angiography and anticoagulated with heparin followed by warfarin. Despite 6 months of warfarin therapy she remained symptomatic. An echocardiogram demonstrated pulmonary hypertension, and a repeat CT angiogram demonstrated no change in the pulmonary artery filling defects.


METHODS
Chest radiography, ventilation-perfusion scan, echocardiogram, right-heart catheterization, pulmonary angiography and pulmonary artery exploration.


METHODS
High-grade intimal sarcoma of the pulmonary artery.


METHODS
Pulmonary endarterectomy.
Kerr
Kim M
KM
Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of California, San Diego Medical Center, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. kmkerr@ucsd.edu
D000328:Adult; D000792:Angiography; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004452:Echocardiography; D004691:Endarterectomy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006976:Hypertension, Pulmonary / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011252:Pregnancy Complications, Neoplastic; D011651:Pulmonary Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D019043:Vascular Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery