[ESC Guidelines 2015 Pulmonary Hypertension: Diagnosis and Treatment]

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is characterized by an increase in PAPmean > 25 mmHg associated with a reduced life expectancy. Recent advances in the management of these patients provided the basis for the updated recommendations of the 2015 joint guidelines of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the European Respiratory Society (ERS) on the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary hypertension. The updated version includes important modifications with regards to hemodynamic definitions, clinical classification and diagnostic assessment of patients with PH. In addition, risk stratification and PH treatment were profoundly modified, introducing novel drugs and improved treatment strategies such as early combination therapy. Finally, the new ESC /ERS guidelines provide formal recommendations for the management of PH due to left heart or chronic lung disease and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension, and define criteria for specialized PH expert centers.