Pulmonary Vascular Disease

The purpose of this study is to characterize pulmonary hemodynamic profiles, with a focus on PVR subtypes, in patients with left-sided valvular heart disease undergoing aortic or mitral valve intervention, and to identify patterns predicting reversibility of TR and RV dysfunction.

The goal is to compare patients with and without varying severity of pulmonary vascular disease based upon hemodynamic signatures, echocardiographic measures, and lung ultrasound, in tandem with expired gas metabolic testing and blood sampling.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether pulmonary blood volume (PBV) derived from contrast echocardiography can serve as a non-invasive surrogate for invasive pulmonary artery wedge pressure (PAWP) during exercise. Also, to compare changes in PBV with exercise in patients with and without heart failure and pulmonary vascular disease.

Patients are being asked to be in this research study because medical researchers hope that by gathering information about a large number of children with pulmonary hypertension over time, their understanding of the disease process will increase and lead to better treatment. Investigators believe that pulmonary hypertension in children is different than pulmonary hypertension in adults and this study will help us understand those differences.