Survival in patients with borderline pulmonary arterial pressure

Background: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is defined as an elevation of mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP) ≥25 mmHg. Normal mPAP is considered to be 14 ± 3 mmHg. The prognostic relevance of mPAP between 21 and 25 mmHg is unknown. Methods: Retrospective analysis of hemodynamics and survival of patients undergoing right heart catheterization at our center between 2006 and 2014 were performed. Patients were clustered into 4 mPAP groups: ≤17 mmHg (lower normal), 18 – 20 mmHg (upper normal), 21 – 24 mmHg (borderline PAP), ≥25 mmHg (manifest PH). Baseline characteristics including number of cardiopulmonary comorbid…