Why pulmonary hypertension gets missed: study links diagnostic delay to severe disease
NCT ID NCT07810881
First seen Sep 09, 2026 · Last updated Sep 10, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
Pulmonary hypertension often goes undiagnosed for a long time because early symptoms are vague. Researchers at Assiut University Heart Hospital are studying whether a longer delay before diagnosis is linked to more advanced disease when patients first present. The study will review medical records and collect new data from about 80 adults with pulmonary hypertension, looking at symptom duration, prior consultations, functional class, walk distance, and heart imaging. The goal is to understand what factors contribute to diagnostic delay and how that delay relates to disease severity.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- What this could lead to
- If the study identifies factors that delay diagnosis, it could inform efforts to detect pulmonary hypertension earlier and potentially reduce severe presentations.
- What could go wrong
- This observational study cannot prove that delay causes worse outcomes, and findings from one hospital may not apply elsewhere. It also relies on medical records that may be incomplete.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Participants
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About 80 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Sep 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
Who is studied
Adult patients (aged 18 years or older) with pulmonary hypertension who present to the Pulmonary Hypertension Unit/Cardiology Department at Assiut University Heart Hospital during the study period. Participants will include patients with pulmonary hypertension confirmed by right heart catheterization when available, or patients with high echocardiographic probability or a clinician diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension when right heart catheterization is not available.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * 1\. Age 18 years or older 2\. Patients with pre-capillary pulmonary hypertension, Group 1 PAH, Group 3 PH associated with lung disease/hypoxia, Group 4 chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) or other pulmonary artery obstructions, and Group 5 PH with unclear or multifactorial mechanisms. 3\. Diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension based on RHC when available, or high echocardiographic probability/clinician diagnosis of PH when RHC is not available. 4\. Availability of baseline clinical assessment at or near the time of diagnosis or first PH-unit presentation. 5\. Ability to provide an approximate date or month/year of first PH-related symptom. 6\. Willingness to participate and provide informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: * 1\. Inability to provide reliable information about symptom onset and no alternative documentation in the medical record. 2\. Incomplete baseline data preventing classification of disease severity. 3. Post-capillary pulmonary hypertension due to left heart disease (Group 2 PH). 4\. Acute pulmonary embolism as the sole acute cause of transient pulmonary pressure elevation at presentation. 5\. Severe acute illness, cognitive impairment, or communication barrier preventing questionnaire completion. 6\. Refusal to participate. 7. Optional exclusion according to committee preference: patients with isolated post-capillary PH due to left heart disease may be excluded if the aim is to focus on PAH/pre-capillary PH.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.