TY - JOUR T1 - Echocardiographic assessment of pulmonary hypertension: standard operating procedure JF - European Respiratory Review JO - EUROPEAN RESPIRATORY REVIEW SP - 239 LP - 248 DO - 10.1183/09059180.00003912 VL - 21 IS - 125 AU - Luke S. Howard AU - Julia Grapsa AU - David Dawson AU - Michael Bellamy AU - John B. Chambers AU - Navroz D. Masani AU - Petros Nihoyannopoulos AU - J. Simon R. Gibbs Y1 - 2012/09/01 UR - http://err.ersjournals.com/content/21/125/239.abstract N2 - Patients with suspected pulmonary hypertension (PH) should be evaluated using a multimodality approach to ensure that they receive a correct diagnosis. The series of investigations required includes clinical evaluation, noninvasive imaging techniques and right heart catheterisation (considered to be the “gold standard” for the diagnosis of PH). Current guidelines recommend that a detailed echocardiographic assessment is performed in all patients with suspected PH. In this review we summarise a protocol adopted by the National Pulmonary Hypertension Centres of UK and Ireland and approved by the British Society of Echocardiography for the evaluation of these patients. The views and measurements described are recommended for diagnosis, assisting in prognosis and providing a noninvasive means of following disease progression or response to therapy. ER -