Implementation of balloon pulmonary angioplasty and evaluation of its effectiveness in treatment of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension at Pauls Stradins Clinical university hospital

Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH)- a distinct subtype of pulmonary hypertension- is a rare and debilitating disease. Left untreated, it causes progressive right ventricular failure and death. The calculated incidence of CTEPH in Latvia in 2016 was 5.1 cases per million inhabitants, whereas the prevalence was 15.7 cases per million inhabitants, being one of the highest in Europe. Percutaneous balloon pulmonary angioplasty is a novel and promising treatment method for selected patients with CTEPH. The aim of this project is training of local invasive cardiologists and introducing this treatment method at Pauls Stradins Clinical university hospital, therefore creating a balloon pulmonary angioplasty excellence center. In addition, a prospective, interventional, single-center study will be conducted regarding effectiveness of BPA in treatment of Latvian CTEPH patients and obtained results will be published in scientific journals indexed in Web of Science or SCOPUS databases as well as presented in international cardiology conferences.