Pulmonary venous hypertension

The most frequent encountered causes of pulmonary hypertension with left heart disease previously referred to as pulmonary venous hypertension in the Evian system and now referred to as pulmonary hypertension caused by left heart disease.

Pulmonary venous hypertension is another term for post-capillary pulmonary hypertension and is a result of increased resistance in the pulmonary veins. It is an important cause of secondary pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Pulmonary venous hypertension is defined by a measurement of pulmonary venous pressure equal to or more than 18 mmHg.

Increased pulmonary venous pressure may lead to functional and structural changes in the pulmonary circulation. It may cause by conditions such as left ventricular failure, mitral regurgitation or mitral stenosis. 

Pulmonary vascular redistribution denotes dilatation of the upper lung vessels and relative vasoconstriction of the lower lung vessels.

In addition to the passive increase in pulmonary blood volume, active vasoconstriction also occurs in the pulmonary vascular bed.
Pulmonary venous hypertension