Clinical correlates and reference intervals for pulmonary artery systolic pressure among echocardiographically normal subjects.

Abstract

To the Editor: We read with great interest the article by McQuillan et al1 describing the clinical and echocardiographic correlates and range of pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) in echocardiographically normal subjects. This subject has garnered renewed interest of late with the increasing prevalence of obesity, the high use of anorectic agents, and their subsequent effect on the development of pulmonary hypertension.2 Additionally, with the improvements in echocardiography, our ability to detect even small degrees of tricuspid regurgitation in normal subjects has improved. A mild “elevation” of PASP is now a common finding in the echocardiography laboratory, resulting in concern as to whether this represents true pathology. Previous definitions of pulmonary hypertension suggested that PASP exceeding 30 mm Hg was pathological; however, these data were often derived from small numbers of patients.3,4⇓ McQuillan and colleagues1 have established a range of PASP found in normal hearts in what is the largest (n=3790) database published to date, with a mean PASP of 28.3±4.9 mm Hg. Increases in PASP were …