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Updated: Jul 18, 2025

Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension and Assessment of Right Ventricular Function in the Piglet
Published on: November 4, 2015
Impact of Balloon Pulmonary Angioplasty on Right Ventricular Function in Patients With Chronic Thromboembolic
David Haner Wasserstein1, William H Frishman2
1From New York Medical College (Medical Student).
Abstract:
Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) can develop in some patients after an acute pulmonary embolism. The disease is characterized by the conversion of emboli into fibrotic thrombi that chronically impede normal circulation through the pulmonary arteries and increase pulmonary vascular resistance. Over time, this increases right ventricular (RV) afterload and strains the RV. The RV compensates by undergoing cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and RV dilation that can maintain stroke volume. However, these adaptations eventually decrease cardiac output and lead to right heart failure. Balloon pulmonary angioplasty has been developed as a treatment option for CTEPH by systematically disrupting thrombosed vessels and improving blood flow throughout the pulmonary circulation. This ultimately reverses the structural maladaptation's seen in CTEPH and improves RV function.
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