Pulmonary Hypertension - From Bench Research to Clinical Challenges

Abstract

The textbook "Pulmonary Hypertension - From Bench Research to Clinical Challenges" addresses the following topics: structure and function of the normal pulmonary vasculature; disregulated cellular pathways seen in experimental and human pulmonary hypertension; clinical aspects of pulmonary hypertension in general; presentation of several specific forms of pulmonary hypertension, and management of pulmonary hypertension in special circumstances. The textbook is unique in that it combines pulmonary and cardiac physiology and pathophysiology with clinical aspects of the disease. First two sections are reserved for the basic knowledge and the recent discoveries related to structure and cellular function of the pulmonary vasculature. The chapters also describe disregulated pathways known to be affected in pulmonary hypertension. A special section deals with the effects of hypoxia on the pulmonary vasculature and the myocardium. Other three sections introduce the methods of evaluating pulmonary hypertension to the reader. The chapters present several forms of pulmonary hypertension which are particularly challenging in clinical practice (such as pulmonary arterial hypertension associated with systemic sclerosis), and lastly, they address special considerations regarding management of pulmonary hypertension in certain clinical scenarios such as pulmonary hypertension in the critically ill.