Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension following ventriculo-atrial shunting

Multiple pulmonary emboli and pulmonary hypertension occurred in a 49-year-old man four years after insertion of a ventriculoatrial shunt. Although this complication is a common finding at post-mortem in children with ventriculo-atrial shunts the frequency with which it occurs in adults is unknown. Routine electrocardiography and lung scanning is necessary for early diagnosis and treatment as symptoms are often insidious and the prognosis in established thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension is poor.