Diagnosis of Pulmonary Hypertension

Since the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) registry report on primary PH in 1987, the ECG has been considered a reliable clue to the presence of PH.

For patients with SSc and SSc spectrum with uncorrected D_LCO 1.6 (assuming none-to-mild interstitial lung disease) and >2-fold upper limit of normal of NT-proBNP. If any of these screening tests are positive, these patients should be referred for RHC. For those with uncorrected D_LCO ⩾80% of predicted, screening may be considered with TTE.