An article published recently on the Expert Review of Medicine reviews the epidemiology of obesity and its impact on pulmonary arterial hypertension. The typical patient has changed over the years from a young, lean, woman to an older person with other conditions such as obesity, diabetes or heart disease. Obesity is now one of the most common and important of these, affecting between a quarter and 40% of patients in recent registries.
The authors explain how obesity affects the heart, lungs and body fat, and how it is linked to inequalities in health. They also cover how it complicates diagnosis. Extra weight can raise the pressures recorded during right heart catheterisation, so doctors may need additional tests during the procedure, such as measuring pressure in the oesophagus, to get an accurate reading of the pressures in the heart and lungs.
Read more at this link on the Expert Review of Respiratory Medicine
Citation
Tager D, Bernardo RJ, Tonelli AR. Pah in the era of obesity: navigating phenotypes of pulmonary hypertension. Expert Rev Respir Med. 2026 Oct 22. doi: 10.1080/17476348.2026.2753850. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 42908309.