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Diagnosis

Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension has many common symptoms associated with other heart and lung diseases and/or which can be part of ageing, being overweight or unfit. To get the correct treatment, it is important to get an accurate diagnosis by a doctor who is an expert in this area.

Diagnostic testing

Diagnostic tests can include:

  • Chest X-ray
  • Electrocardiography (ECG) (recording of the heart’s electrical activity using skin patches)
  • Lung function tests (breathing tests)
  • Echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart)
  • Ventilation/perfusion lung (V/Q) scan (compares blood and air circulation in the lungs)
  • CT scan (looks at the tissue in the lungs)
  • Right heart catheterisation (a safe and painless procedure to measure pressure in the heart and lungs) – this test is usually needed to confirm PAH

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