Obesity and Pulmonary Hypertension: A Review of Pathophysiologic Mechanisms

Table 1

Dana Point clinical classification of pulmonary hypertension (2008).

Group 1	Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Examples: idiopathic, familial, drug and toxin induced, collagen vascular disease, congenital left to right shunts, HIV, portal hypertension, schistosomiasis, chronic hemolytic anemia, pulmonary venoocclusive disease, pulmonary capillary hemangiomatosis.
Group 2	Pulmonary hypertension owing to left heart disease. Examples: chronic severe left sided valve disease, left ventricular severe systolic, or diastolic heart failure.
Group 3	Pulmonary hypertension owing to lung diseases and/or hypoxia. Examples: COPD, interstitial lung disease, sleep-disordered breathing, alveolar hypoventilation, chronic exposure to high altitudes.
Group 4	Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). Examples: thrombotic obstruction of the pulmonary arteries.
Group 5	Pulmonary hypertension with unclear multifactorial mechanisms. Examples: myeloproliferative disorders, splenectomy, sarcoidosis, pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis, lymphangioleiomyomatosis, neurofibromatosis, vasculitis, thyroid disease, fibrosing mediastinitis, chronic renal failure on dialysis, tumor obstruction, glycogen storage disease.

HIV: human immunodeficiency virus, COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.