Pulmonary hypertension chest x ray

, Richard Channick, M.D.; Assistant Editor(s)-in-Chief: Ralph Matar.

Chest x-ray in a patient with pulmonary hypertension:

 * Chest x-ray is abnormal in 90% of patients with pulmonary hypertension at the time of diagnosis. However, no correlation have been found between the degree of severity of pulmonary hypertension and the findings on chest x-rays.


 * It allows exclusion of moderate to severe lung diseases and pulmonary venous hypertension due to left heart disease.

Findings on Chest x-ray:

 * 1) Hilar pulmonary arterial dilation.
 * 2) Loss of peripheral blood vessel markings.
 * 3) Enlarged right atrium and right ventricle in advanced diseases.

Typical chest x-rays:
This is a posteroanterior radiograph revealing enlarged pulmonary arteries in a patient with Atrial septal defect.

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==Chest x-ray for a patient with advanced Histiocytosis X associated with severe pulmonary hypertension :==