title: Readdressing the entity of exercise pulmonary arterial hypertension.
abstract: Exercise pulmonary hypertension (EPH) indicates an abnormally elevated pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) during exercise. The physiological range of PAP during exercise remains poorly defined and, therefore, a universally accepted definition of EPH remains elusive. Nevertheless, previous data concerning the distribution of PAP in normal populations and more recent retrospective clinical data enhanced our ability to define EPH. EPH can impair exercise capacity and cause dyspnea. The underlying pathophysiology of the arterial form of EPH (EPAH) appears to be similar to that seen in resting pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), and EPAH individuals are at risk of developing resting PAH. Patients with collagen vascular disease, especially scleroderma, are at risk for EPAH and its presence indicates a relatively poor prognosis. The prevalence of EPAH in scleroderma may be as high as 50%. The utility of pulmonary vasodilator therapy for EPAH is not well defined; however, a sizable subgroup of EPAH patients will achieve an improvement in symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Albany Medical College, Albany, NY, USA. Electronic address: MedaroB@mail.amc.edu.
authors.forename: Boris I
authors.initials: BI
authors.lastname: Medarov
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Albany Medical College, Albany, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Sidharth
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jogani
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Albany Medical College, Albany, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Johnathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Albany Medical College, Albany, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Marc A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Judson
mesh_terms: D004417:Dyspnea / Q000150:complications* / Q000209:etiology; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D006976:Hypertension, Pulmonary / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D015995:Prevalence; D012146:Rest / Q000502:physiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012595:Scleroderma, Systemic / Q000150:complications; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000150:complications
keywords: Diagnosis; Exercise pulmonary hypertension; Pulmonary hypertension; Treatment