Advanced imaging in pulmonary hypertension: emerging techniques and applications

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Radiology
• Pulmonology

Background:

• Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is characterized by elevated pulmonary arterial pressure, negatively affecting exercise capacity, quality of life, and survival.
• Noninvasive imaging is crucial for PH diagnosis, pressure measurement, classification, underlying disease identification, prognosis, and treatment response assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review advanced and emerging noninvasive imaging techniques for diagnosing and managing pulmonary hypertension.
• To highlight the role of novel imaging modalities in evaluating PH patients.

Main Methods:

• Review of current literature on established and innovative imaging techniques for PH.
• Discussion of echocardiography, CT, V/Q scans, 3D echo, dual-energy CT, 4D flow MRI, T1/ECV mapping, non-contrast MRI, and PET imaging.

Main Results:

• Established techniques like echocardiography, CT, and V/Q scans are standard for PH work-up.
• Emerging techniques such as 4D flow MRI and advanced CT/MRI offer enhanced diagnostic and prognostic capabilities.
• Molecular-targeted PET imaging presents future potential for PH assessment.

Conclusions:

• Advanced imaging techniques are vital for comprehensive PH evaluation, from diagnosis to follow-up.
• Emerging modalities promise more precise noninvasive assessment of pulmonary hemodynamics and disease progression.
• Continued development in imaging will improve patient outcomes in pulmonary hypertension.