Refined balloon pulmonary angioplasty for inoperable patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension

Abstract

Background: Although balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) for inoperable patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension was first reported over a decade ago, its clinical application has been restricted because of limited efficacy and complications. We have refined the procedure of BPA to maximize its clinical efficacy. Methods and results: Sixty-eight consecutive patients with inoperable chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) underwent BPA. We evaluated pulmonary artery diameters and determined the appropriate balloon size by using intravascular ultrasound. We performed BPA in a staged fashion over multiple, separate procedures to maximize efficacy and reduce the risk of reperfusion pulmonary injury. A total of 4 (2–8) sessions were performed in each patient, and the number of vessels dilated per session was 3 (1–14). The World Health Organization functional class improved from 3 to 2 (p < 0.01), and mean pulmonary arterial pressure was decreased from 45.4 ± 9.6 to 24.0 ± 6.4 mm Hg (p < 0.01). One patient died because of right heart failure 28 days after BPA. During follow-up for 2.2 ± 1.4 years after the final BPA, another patient died of pneumonia, and the remaining 66 patients are alive. In 57 patients who underwent right heart catheterization at follow-up, improvement of mean pulmonary arterial pressure was maintained (24.0 ± 5.8 mmHg at 1.0 ± 0.9 years). Forty-one patients (60%) developed reperfusion pulmonary injury after BPA, but mechanical ventilation was required in only 4 patients. Conclusions: Our refined BPA procedure improves clinical status and hemodynamics of inoperable patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension, with a low mortality. A refined BPA procedure could be considered as a therapeutic approach for patients with inoperable chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension.