Signs and symptoms of irreversible pulmonary arterial hypertension secondary to an initial congenital heart disease with left-right shunt (VSD, ASD, ductus arteriosus, atrioventricular canal, aortopulmonary window) that has not been corrected: the significant and prolonged increase in pulmonary blood flow leads to pulmonary arterial vasculopathy with irreversible thickening and rigidity of the vascular walls, and therefore increased lung resistance (> 10 UWood). This irreversible arterial hypertension appears more quickly in case of trisomy 21 (associated pulmonary capillary abnormalities) or genetic predisposition to pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Clinical signs: fatigue, cyanosis, chest pain, digital clubbing; hemoptysis and right heart failure (edema, hepatomegaly) are late. Risk of paradoxical cerebral embolism, endocarditis and thrombosis of pulmonary vessels.

Auscultation: strong B2 heart sound sometimes accompanied by a click, sometimes murmur of pulmonary regurgitation

Paraclinical examinations: polycythemia, RVH on ECG, atrial and/or ventricular arrhythmias

Associated pathologies: polycythemia, iron deficiency, hyperuricemia, coagulation disorders (hyperviscosity), stroke, brain abscess

Medical treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension: bosentan, sildenafil, iloprost and/or epoprostenol.

Curative treatment: heart-lung transplant.

Anesthetic implications:

high-risk anesthesia; preoperative echocardiography; be aware of the patient's usual systolic blood pressure, as there is a risk of RV ischemia in the event of systemic hypotension; maintain high peripheral resistances to minimize the size of the right-to-left shunt: if this increases, hypoxemia worsens. Agents of choice: etomidate, ketamine, remimazolam

Lung resistance is theoretically fixed and irreversible, but it seems that general anaesthesia, the use of NO and above all the increase in FiO2, and the reduction in PaCO2 in case of controlled ventilation, lead to a moderate improvement in oxygenation. Prevention of endocarditis. Thromboprophylaxis.

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Updated: November 2024