EVALUATION OF PULMONARY WEDGE PRESSURE IN HORSES WITH AND WITHOUT LEFT-HEART ABNORMALITIES DETECTED BY ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY

30 horses with echocardiographically detected left heart abnormalities and 10 horses without cardiac alterations were examined clinically, e lectrocardiographically and echocardiographically. A right heart cathe terization was performed in ail horses with a fluid-filled Swan-Ganz-c atheter to obtain the pulmonary wedge pressure (PWP) as an index of le ft ventricular diastolic function. The mean values for pulmonary wedge pressure showed significant differences (p = 0.0003) between the hors es with left heart alterations (21.6 +/- 5.4 mmHg) and the healthy con trol group (16.3 +/- 2.8 mmHg). PWP seems to be influenced by various left heart diseases. Seventeen out of 30 horses with left heart altera tions showed PWP values within the normal range. Therefore, the PWP ca nnot be used as an index for left heart disease in general. But elevat ions of the pulmonary wedge pressure seem to indicate hemodynamic chan ges and therefore the grade of decompensation of several left heart di seases. The assessment of the PWP might be useful especially in cases where precise assessment of hemodynamic relevance and thus prognostic evaluation is not possible by echocardiographical and clinical examina tion only.