FEATURED CASE REPORT

Pulmonary artery dissection: an emerging cardiovascular complication in surviving patients with chronic pulmonary hypertension

R S Khattar, D J Fox, J E Alty, A Arora

Manchester Heart Centre, Manchester Royal Infirmary, Manchester, UK

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr Rajdeep S Khattar
Manchester Heart Centre, Manchester Royal Infirmary, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9WL, UK; rskhattar{at}hotmail.com

Pulmonary arterial dissection is an extremely rare and usually lethal complication of chronic pulmonary hypertension. The condition usually manifests as cardiogenic shock or sudden death and is therefore typically diagnosed at postmortem examination rather than during life. However, recent isolated reports have described pulmonary artery dissection in surviving patients. The first case of pulmonary artery dissection in a surviving patient with cor pulmonale caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is presented. The aetiology, pathophysiology, and clinical presentation of pulmonary artery dissection are reviewed and factors that may aid diagnosis during life are discussed.

Keywords: pulmonary artery dissection; cor pulmonale

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Degano, B., Prevot, G., Tetu, L., Sitbon, O., Simonneau, G., Humbert, M. (2009). Fatal dissection of the pulmonary artery in pulmonary arterial hypertension. ERR 18: 181-185 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Hoye, S L, Gale, C P, Tolan, D J M, Pepper, C B (2009). An unusual presentation of pulmonary artery dissection. Thorax 64: 368-368 [Full Text]  
• Westaby, S., Evans, B. J., Ormerod, O. (2007). Pulmonary-Artery Dissection in Patients with Eisenmenger's Syndrome. NEJM 356: 2110-2112 [Full Text]  
• Neimatallah, M A, Hassan, W, Moursi, M, Al Kadhi, Y (2007). CT findings of pulmonary artery dissection. Br. J. Radiol. 80: e61-e63 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Wuyts, W.A., Herijgers, P., Budts, W., De Wever, W., Delcroix, M. (2006). Extensive dissection of the pulmonary artery treated with combined heart-lung transplantation. J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. 132: 205-206 [Full Text]