[Role of echocardiography in suspected pulmonary hypertension]

Echocardiography is the non-invasive method of choice for the study of patients with suspected pulmonary hypertension. This technique allows systolic pulmonary artery pressure to be estimated and can also provide additional information on the cause and effects of the disease. To estimate systolic pulmonary pressure, equivalent to right ventricular systolic pressure, maximal flow velocity of tricuspid regurgitation and right atrial pressure--estimated on the basis of the degree of inferior vena cava dilation--can be employed. Other parameters that should be evaluated are those related to right cavity size and right ventricular function. Unlike the left ventricle, the anatomy and geometry of the right ventricle is complex, hampering calculation of its systolic function. Consequently, over the years, various indirect methods have been developed to estimate right systolic function, the most commonly used being tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) and the Tei index. New echocardiographic methods such as study of myocardial deformation (strain) and three-dimensional echocardiography may soon provide data suggesting poor clinical course in the short and medium term. Consequently, accurate determination and characterization of these data are essential.