Standards of care in pulmonary hypertension.

Consensus Statement of the Spanish Society of Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery (SEPAR) and the Spanish Society of Cardiology (SEC). Substantial progress in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with pulmonary hypertension in recent years has led to significant improvement in survival. Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines issued by scientific societies reflect these new developments. However, certain clinically relevant issues have not been covered in consensus guidelines because of the lack of conclusive scientific evidence. Therefore, the Spanish Society of Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery (SEPAR) and the Spanish Society of Cardiology (SEC) have promoted the present consensus statement in order to define national standards of care in the evaluation and management of pulmonary hypertension in its various forms, as well as to outline a clinical pathway and the basic principles for organizing health care in this clinical setting, with special emphasis on the requirements for and functions of specialized referral units. To prepare the statement, SEPAR and SEC formed a task force composed of national experts in various aspects of pulmonary hypertension. The resulting consensus is based on international clinical guidelines, a review of available scientific evidence, and panel discussion among the task force members. The final statement, approved by all participants, underwent external review.