Because of the similarity of the symptoms to other diseases, the diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension can be very challenging. Most of the time, many tests should be performed to make the correct diagnosis. If the physician thinks that the patient has pulmonary hypertension after performing some tests because of suspicion, they recommend the patient to see a specialised physician/ healthcare centre for more advanced tests.
The tests which are performed during the period of the diagnosis and evaluation are as follows:
Echocardiography
Echocardiography evaluates the way your heart works by using sound waves. With the help of ecocardiography, a general idea about the pulmonary pressure can be obtained and the heart chambres’ working mechanism can be evaluated. In addition, it’s also possible to see congenital heart defects with echocardiography.
Cardiac catheterisation
This is a definitive test which has a high diagnostic value. It helps us to obtain definite results about the right side of the heart and blood pressure in the pulmonary vessels. For that reason, it’s very important to make a definite pulmonary hypertension diagnosis. The measurements are done with the femoral or jugular insertion of a long, thin, flexible catheter, which is sent to the heart and pulmonary vessels. Hospitalisation for several days is required during this application and other tests.
Other tests
The tests in this section are planned in case of necessity by the physician. For that reason, the patient shouldn’t worry if some of the tests haven’t been performed.
- ECG (Electrocardiogram): Possible rhythm-related problems can be seen with this test measuring the electrical activity of the heart.
- Blood tests
- Pulmonary function tests and breathing tests
- Sleep tests
- Other scannings:
- Computer tomography for possible lung diseases or blood clots in pulmonary vessels
- Perfusion scintigraphy: It’s used especially in case of pulmonary blood clots’ presence
- Ultrasound for the evaluation of the liver
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the evaluation of cardiac functions
- Exercise or walking test