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Methods:

The study group comprised 23 patients with PAH and 16 healthy controls who underwent FDG positron emission tomography. The ratio of RV uptake (u) of FDG to those of LV was used as a marker for the glucose utilization by RV myocardium. Six-minute walking distance, plasma brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), planimetric echo measures of RV and LV areas, pulmonary arterial systolic pressure estimated by Doppler, Tei index, tricuspid annular excursion, and systolic tissue velocity (St) were used to assess the RV function.

Results:

The patients with PAH had significantly higher FDG SUV ratios as compared with controls. The RV to LV FDGu ratio showed a high correlation with PAPs (r= 0.87, P< 0.05), BNP (r= 0.63, P< 0.05), and planimetric echo measures of RV to LV area ratio (r= 0.61, P< 0.05); a mild correlation with Tei index (r= 0.47, P< 0.05); and a high and inverse correlation with tricuspid annular …