Early Diagnosis of Pulmonary Hypertension in Patients With Inflammatory Rheumatic Connective Tissue Diseases

Heidelberg University

Status: Enrolling

Conditions: Connective Tissue Disease; Pulmonary Hypertension

Study type: Observational

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01387035

S-360/2009

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purposes of this study are (I), to evaluate various screening methods for their ability to predict and to confirm Pulmonary Hypertension (PH) in scleroderma patients, and (II) to evaluate the incidence of PH (i.e. the number of new cases per year) in scleroderma patients.

Enrollment: 50 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• consent form
• men and women> 18 years
• fulfill the current definition of a collagen vascular disease according to the actual guidelines of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR)

Exclusion criteria

• all contraindications for exercise testing
• significant restriction of the left ventricle, unstable coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction in the last 6 months
• patients with other lung diseases (as the pulmonary infestations as part of systemic disease) or related musculoskeletal disorders influencing baseline exercise capacity
• pregnancy