False-positive diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension by Doppler echocardiography

A 37-yr-old female presented with a history of several months of exertional dyspnoea. A diagnosis of primary pulmonary hypertension a as suspected an the basis of a negative extensive cardiorespiratory work-up with a systolic pulmonary: artery pressure of 41-46 mmHg calculated from repeated measurem ent of the maximum velocity of tricuspid regurgitation jets at 2.8-3 m s(-1 ) by continuous-wave Doppler echocardiography. However, a right heart cathe terization Kith a high-fidelity transducer-tipped catheter revealed pulmona ry artery pressures of 22/8 mmHg at rest,,which remained within normal limi ts at exercise. This case indicates a possible misleading overestimation of pulmonary artery pressures from Doppler echocardiographic studies of tricu spid regurgitation.