Noninvasive assessment of pulmonary hypertension: a simultaneous echo-Doppler hemodynamic study.

Thirty patients with stable chronic obstructive lung disease (COLD) underwent an echo-Doppler examination before and during right heart catheterization. No statistically significant differences between observations for any of two-dimensional echo-Doppler parameters were found. The measurement of all parameters taken during the catheterization correlated better with mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) than those taken before. This difference was most evident for the isovolumetric acceleration time (r = 0.71 before versus r = 0.85 during the catheterization) and relaxation time (r = -0.75 before versus r = -0.87 during the catheterization). The multiple correlation coefficient for all measured parameters and mPAP was 0.83 before and 0.92 during the catheterization. In conclusion, in patients with COLD, it appears possible to get reliable information about PAP using noninvasive techniques.