The Role of Pulmonary Hypertension and Thromboembolism in the Production of Pulmonary Arteriosclerosis

Thromboembolism and pulmonary hypertension have been assessed as factors in the production of pulmonary arteriosclerosis. A study was made of autopsy records and tissue sections from 59 cases of congenital heart disease with anomalies permitting shunting of blood from the systemic to the pulmonary circulation and 31 cases of pulmonary stenosis with septal defect. Pulmonary arteriosclerosis was found to be common and of equal frequency in the two groups of cases, indicating that hypertension is not a necessary factor. There was a close correlation between the presence of pulmonary arterial thrombi and pulmonary arteriosclerosis.