Publications by authors named "J-L Vachiery"

Background: Invasive exercise right heart catheterization is a gold standard in diagnosing heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Body positions during the test influence hemodynamics. However, the discrepancy in HFpEF diagnosis between exercise testing in supine versus upright position is unknown.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Left heart disease (LHD) is a leading cause of pulmonary hypertension (PH), further classified into isolated post-capillary (ipcPH) or combined pre- and post-capillary PH (cpcPH).
  • Recent clinical trials emphasize avoiding pulmonary arterial hypertension treatments for PH-LHD patients outside of trials, as these treatments may cause harm.
  • A new PH-LHD staging system categorizes patients into four stages based on their clinical and hemodynamic characteristics, which aims to improve diagnosis and treatment through a more individualized approach.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Aims: Pulmonary hypertension due to left heart disease (PH-LHD) is the most frequent form of PH. As differential diagnosis with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) has therapeutic implications, it is important to accurately and noninvasively differentiate PH-LHD from PAH before referral to PH centres. The aim was to develop and validate a machine learning (ML) model to improve prediction of PH-LHD in a population of PAH and PH-LHD patients.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Exercise hemodynamics can differentiate heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) from noncardiac dyspnea. However, respiratory pressure swings may impact hemodynamic measurements, potentially leading to misdiagnosis of HFpEF. Moreover, threshold values for abnormal hemodynamic response indicative of HFpEF are not universally accepted.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is frequent in left heart disease (LHD), as a consequence of the underlying condition. Significant advances have occurred over the past 5 years since the 5th World Symposium on Pulmonary Hypertension in 2013, leading to a better understanding of PH-LHD, challenges and gaps in evidence. PH in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction represents the most complex situation, as it may be misdiagnosed with group 1 PH.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Increased pulmonary venous pressure secondary to left heart disease is the most common cause of pulmonary hypertension (PH). The diagnosis of PH due to left heart disease relies on a clinical probability assessment followed by the invasive measurements of a mean pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) ≥25 mm Hg and mean wedged PAP (PAWP) >15 mm Hg. A combination of mean PAP and mean PAWP defines postcapillary PH.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Data on the effect of initial combination therapy with ambrisentan and tadalafil on long-term outcomes in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension are scarce.

Methods: In this event-driven, double-blind study, we randomly assigned, in a 2:1:1 ratio, participants with World Health Organization functional class II or III symptoms of pulmonary arterial hypertension who had not previously received treatment to receive initial combination therapy with 10 mg of ambrisentan plus 40 mg of tadalafil (combination-therapy group), 10 mg of ambrisentan plus placebo (ambrisentan-monotherapy group), or 40 mg of tadalafil plus placebo (tadalafil-monotherapy group), all administered once daily. The primary end point in a time-to-event analysis was the first event of clinical failure, which was defined as the first occurrence of a composite of death, hospitalization for worsening pulmonary arterial hypertension, disease progression, or unsatisfactory long-term clinical response.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Advances in the diagnosis and management of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) have resulted in significant improvements in outcomes for patients with this devastating and progressive disease. However, because of the non-specific nature of its symptoms, and the low level of suspicion among clinicians, prompt and accurate diagnosis of PAH as a rare disease remains a challenge. This article explains some of the issues that need to be addressed when faced with a patient with suspected PAH and describes how noninvasive and invasive techniques can be used effectively to ensure an accurate diagnosis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rapidly progressive disease, ultimately leading to right heart failure and death. Accumulating evidence indicates that intervention early in disease progression results in better outcomes than delaying treatment. In this review we will discuss the assessments and strategies that can be used to monitor disease progression and guide clinical management.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a severe, progressive condition of the small pulmonary vessels that leads to increased pulmonary vascular resistance, right ventricular failure and death. Patients in World Health Organization functional class (WHO FC) IV are the most severely affected in terms of disease severity, symptomatic impairment, exercise capacity and haemodynamics, with a very poor prognosis and low survival rate. Recent developments in PAH-specific therapies have conferred significant prognostic improvements upon PAH patients, especially when coupled with management strategies such as goal-oriented therapy and combination treatment.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF