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Updated: Jun 12, 2026

Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension and Assessment of Right Ventricular Function in the Piglet
Published on: November 4, 2015
Intimal pulmonary artery sarcoma presenting as severe dyspnea and right heart insufficiency
Michael Halank1, Christiane Jakob, Martin Kolditz
1Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik I, Universitätsklinikum an der TU Dresden, TU Dresden, Germany. Michael.Halank@uniklinikum-dresden.de
Background:
Pulmonary artery sarcoma is a rare tumor with a poor prognosis.
Case Report:
We report the case of a 64-year-old man with an intimal pulmonary artery sarcoma presenting with severe high oxygen flow-demanding dyspnea and weight loss of 12 kg in the last 6 months. On echocardiography, right heart insufficiency, markedly elevated right ventricular pressure, a pressure gradient along the right outflow tract, and a tumor mass adherent to the wall of the truncus pulmonalis were detected. The tentative diagnosis by echocardiographic findings was pulmonary artery sarcoma. Computed tomography of the thorax and 18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography showed an advanced local tumor manifestation. Surgical resection of the tumor to improve hemodynamics confirmed the diagnosis.
Conclusions:
Pulmonary artery sarcoma should be considered as a rare differential diagnosis in patients with dyspnea due to right heart failure, particular in the case of additional weight loss, and echocardiographic examination is a useful first diagnostic approach in establishing the diagnosis.
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