Saudi guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary hypertension: 2014 updates

The Saudi Association for Pulmonary Hypertension [previously called Saudi Advisory Group for Pulmonary Hypertension] has published the first Saudi Guidelines on Diagnosis and Treatment of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension back in 2008. [1] That guideline was very detailed and extensive and reviewed most aspects of pulmonary hypertension [PH]. One of the disadvantages of such detailed guidelines is the difficulty that some of the readers who just want to get a quick guidance or looking for a specific piece of information might face. All efforts were made to develop this guideline in an easy-to-read form, making it very handy and helpful to clinicians dealing with PH patients to select the best management strategies for the typical patient suffering from a specific condition. This Guideline was designed to provide recommendations for problems frequently encountered by practicing clinicians involved in management of PH. This publication targets mainly adult and pediatric PH-treating physicians, but can also be used by other physicians interested in PH

Saudi guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary hypertension: pulmonary arterial hypertension associated with connective tissue diseases

The explosive growth of medical literature on pulmonary hypertension [PH] has led to a steady increase in awareness of this disease within the medical community during the past decade. The recent revision of the classification of PH is presented in in the main guidelines. Group 1 PH or pulmonary arterial hypertension [PAH] is a heterogeneous group and includes PH due to inheritable, drug-induced, and toxin-induced causes and to such underlying systemic causes as connective tissue diseases, human immunodeficiency viral infection, portal hypertension, congenital heart disease, and schistosomiasis. Systemic sclerosis [SSc] is an autoimmune multisystem disorder, which affects over 240 persons per million in the United States. [1] Its manifestations are not confined to the skin but may also involve the lungs, kidneys, peripheral circulation, musculoskeletal system, gastrointestinal tract, and heart. The outcome of PAH associated with SSc is worse when compared to other subtypes of PAH. In this review, we summarize available information about the pulmonary vascular and cardiac manifestations of SSc with special emphasis on their prognostic implications as well as the peculiarity of their detection