Cardiac Function and 4D Flow in a Swine Model of Isolated Post-Capillary Pulmonary Hypertension

Motivation: Left heart failure (LHF) often results in pulmonary hypertension (PH), which leads to poorly understood pulmonary vascular and right ventricular changes caused by increased pulmonary venous pressures. Goal(s): We utilized cardiac MRI (CMR) and right heart catheterization (RHC) metrics to better characterize this swine model of Ipc-PH without LHF and to analyze disease progression. Approach: Surgical pulmonary vein banding of swine was performed to induce isolated post-capillary pulmonary hypertension (Ipc-PH) without damage to the left heart. Results: A longitudinal comparison of CMR and RHC metrics showed the development of Ipc-PH independent of LHF with associated cardiopulmonary hemodynamic changes. Impact: This swine model of isolated post-capillary PH demonstrates altered pulmonary venous return with elevated pulmonary vascular resistance and mean pulmonary artery pressure while preserving left ventricular ejection fraction, providing a potential means for evaluating progression to combined pre/post-capillary PH.