Baseline characteristics of the patient populations
| Population under study | Historical control group | p-value | |
| Subjects n | 123 | 84 | |
| Female/male | 90/33 (73.2/26.8) | 57/27 (67.9/32.1) | 0.41 |
| Age yrs | 52±14 | 44±13 | <0.001 |
| Diagnosis | |||
| IPAH | 89 (72) | 67 (80) | 0.23# |
| PAH-CTD | 15 (12.2) | 5 (6.0) | |
| PAH-CHD | 5 (6.5) | 3 (3.6) | |
| PAH-HIV | 2 (1.6) | 2 (3.6) | |
| PPHT | 12 (9.8) | 7 (8.3) | |
| Functional NYHA class III/IV | 98/25 (79.7/20.3) | 66/18 (78.6/21.4) | 0.85 |
| History of syncope | 26 (21.1) | 16 (19.0) | 0.71 |
| History of right heart failure | 35 (28.5) | 22 (26.2) | 0.72 |
| 6-min walk distance m | 308±133 | 314±125 | 0.97 |
| Peak V′O2 mL·min−1·kg−1 | 12.1±3.5 | NA | NA |
| Baseline haemodynamics | |||
| RAP mmHg | 8±5 | 8±5 | 0.81 |
| PAPm mmHg | 52±10 | 55±13 | 0.15 |
| PCWP mmHg | 7±3 | 8±2 | 0.30 |
| CO L·min−1 | 3.9±1.2 | 3.7±1.2 | 0.34 |
| CI L·min−1·m−2 | 2.1±0.6 | 2.1±0.6 | 0.44 |
| PVR dyn·s·cm−5 | 1027±443 | 1122±465 | 0.10 |
| Sv,O2 % | 61±9 | 61±10 | 0.88 |
| Concomitant medication | |||
| Oral anticoagulants | 107 (88.0) | 75 (89.3) | 0.62 |
| Diuretics | 102 (82.9) | 72 (85.7) | 0.59 |
| Digitalis | 23 (18.7) | 18 (21.4) | 0.63 |
| Probability of survival¶ | |||
| 1 yr | 0.71±0.10 | 0.70±0.10 | 0.93 |
| 2 yrs | 0.59±0.12 | 0.58±0.12 | 0.87 |
| 3 yrs | 0.50±0.14 | 0.49±0.14 | 0.87 |
Data are presented as n (%) or mean±sd. The time period for the population under study was between January 1 2002 and December 31 2004. The time period for the historical control group was between January 1 1999 and December 31 2001. IPAH: idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension; PAH-CTD: pulmonary arterial hypertension associated with connective tissue disease; PAH-CHD: pulmonary arterial hypertension associated with congenital heart disease; PAH-HIV: pulmonary arterial hypertension associated with human immunodeficiency virus infection; PPHT: portopulmonary hypertension; NYHA: New York Heart Association; peak V′O2: peak oxygen uptake determined by cardiopulmonary exercise testing; RAP: right atrial pressure; PAPm: mean pulmonary arterial pressure; PCWP: pulmonary capillary wedge pressure; CO: cardiac output; CI: cardiac index; PVR: pulmonary vascular resistance; Sv,O2: mixed-venous oxygen saturation; NA: not assessed. #: IPAH versus non-IPAH only; ¶: PAH only.