Comparison of clinical and haemodynamic data for patients diagnosed in three different treatment eras
| Year | p-value | |||
| 1982–1996 | 1996–2002 | 2002–2006 | ||
| Subjects n | 103 | 328 | 147 | |
| Age yr | 41±12 | 49±14 | 52±14 | <0.0001 |
| Female | 77 (75) | 253 (77) | 115 (78) | 0.81 |
| WHO functional class | 3.2±0.9 | 2.9±0.8 | 3.2±0.8 | 0.003 |
| Exercise capacity METs | 3.6±3.05 | 3.6±3.05 | 3.4±2.9 | 0.81 |
| Prostacyclins# | 3 (2.9) | 11 (3.4) | 0 | 0.44 |
| Endothelin antagonists# | 0 | 1 (0.3) | 17 (11.6) | <0.001 |
| Phosphodiesterase inhibitors# | 0 | 0 | 5 (3.4) | <0.001 |
| Idiopathic/familial PAH | 77 (75) | 150 (46) | 49 (33) | <0.0001 |
| CTD | 12 (11) | 100 (30) | 61 (42) | <0.0001 |
| Congenital heart disease | 10 (10) | 34 (10) | 18 (12) | 0.78 |
| Portal hypertension | 4 (4) | 25 (8) | 14 (10) | 0.241 |
| Anorexigens | 0 | 13 (4) | 3 (2) | 0.065 |
| HIV | 0 | 6 (2) | 2 (1) | 0.164 |
| RAP mmHg | 12±7 | 11±6 | 10±6 | 0.10 |
| mPAP mmHg | 56±14 | 51±14 | 51±12 | 0.005 |
| PCWP mmHg | 10±4 | 10±4 | 10±5 | 0.40 |
| Cardiac index L−1·min·m−2 | 2.1±0.8 | 2.3±0.9 | 2.3±0.8 | 0.37 |
| PA,O2 saturation | 56 | 58 | 60 | 0.07 |
| PVR Wood units | 13.4±6.4 | 12.7±7.9 | 11.5±6.1 | 0.15 |
| Acute vasodilator responders | 3.7 | 4.2 | 5.8 | 0.78 |
Data are presented as mean±sd, % or n (%), unless otherwise stated. WHO: World Health Organization; METs: metabolic equivalents; PAH: pulmonary arterial hypertension; CTD: connective tissue disease; RAP: right atrial pressure; mPAP: mean pulmonary artery pressure; PCWP: pulmonary capillary wedge pressure; PA,O2: alveolar oxygen partial pressure; PVR: pulmonary vascular resistance. #: PAH-specific medications taken by patients at the time of referral to the authors’ centre.