An epidemiological study of pulmonary arterial hypertension in Scotland

¹ Scottish Pulmonary Vascular Unit, Western Infirmary, Glasgow, United Kingdom
² Dept of Cardiology, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom
³ Preventative Cardiology, Baker Heart Research Institute, Australia

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: apeacock{at}udcf.gla.ac.uk.

	Abstract

We examined all hospitalizations for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in the Scottish population to determine its epidemiologic features and compared these data with expert data from the Scottish Pulmonary Vascular Unit (SPVU).

Using the linked Scottish Morbidity Record Scheme, data from all adults aged 16 to 65 years admitted with PAH (Idiopathic PAH, PH associated with congenital heart abnormalities (Congenital PAH) and PH associated with connective tissue disorders (Connective PAH)) during 1986-2001 were identified. These data were compared with the most recent data on the SPVU database (2005)

Overall, 374 Scottish men and women aged 16-65 years were hospitalized with incident PAH during 1986-2001. The incidence of PAH was 7.1 cases·million^-1·annum^-1. On 31^st December 2002 there were 165 surviving cases giving a prevalence of PAH of 52 cases·million^-1.

Data from the SPVU was available from 1997-2006. In 2005, the last year with a complete data set the incidence of PAH was 7.6 cases·million^-1·annum^-1 and the corresponding prevalence was 26/million.

Hospitalisation data from the Scottish Morbidity record scheme gave higher prevalences for PAH than data from the expert centres (Scotland and France). The Hospitalisation data may overestimate the true frequency of PAH in the population but it is also possible that the expert centres underestimate the true frequency.

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