Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: New CHEST Guidelines and New CDC Surveillance Data

Terence K. Trow, MD, FCCP (one of the authors for the new Pharmacologic Therapy for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) in Adults CHEST Guideline and Expert Panel Report); Mary G. George, MD (corresponding author of the new CDC pulmonary hypertension surveillance report); and editorialist Anna R. Hemnes, MD, join CHEST Podcast Editor D. Kyle Hogarth, MD, FCCP to review these important articles. The new CHEST PAH Guidelines distill the available evidence on new therapies and treatment. Among the points emphasized by Dr. Trow is the need to use more than echocardiograms in diagnosis; right-sided heart catheterization is also required. Dr. George reviews the data from the National Vital Statistics System and from the National Hospital Discharge Survey, noting that after a period of decline, the mortality associated with PH among men is beginning to rise; a rise among women also continues.