Vasoreactivity testing in pulmonary hypertension associated with congenital heart disease

Abstract

   In December, 2021 at the IXth All-Russian Congress «Pulmonary Hypertension 2021» the first Eurasian guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary hypertension associated with congenital heart disease in adults were approved. The expert group discussed many contentious issues, including the need for diagnostic tests for vasoreactivity. Invasive registration of the reaction of the pulmonary vessels to vasodilators – a vasoreactivity testing – in idiopathic, hereditary and drug- and toxin-induced pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is used to determine indications for calcium antagonist therapy, in PAH associated with uncorrected congenital heart disease (CHD) in children – to determine the indications for surgical treatment. The use of a vasoreactivity testing to assess the operability of adult patients with congenital heart disease is inappropriate. An overview of the performance technique, specific pulmonary vasodilators and criteria for evaluating the test for vasoreactivity in various subgroups of PH associated with CHD is given.