University of Michigan Health Frankel Cardiovascular Center is a Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) Accredited Care Center (PHCC) and has the ability to offer all currently available treatment options for CTEPH, such as medical therapy, percutaneous and surgical interventions. 

Each patient is unique and the treatment is individualized based on their actual condition. Our ability to work in a multidisciplinary fashion differentiates our program and allows patients access to various specialists and therapies. 

As a patient, your evaluation begins in the Pulmonary Hypertension Clinic, where a series of testing may be needed to accurately diagnose pulmonary hypertension and CTEPH. Our team discusses clinical cases in a multidisciplinary fashion to understand which treatment option is best for each individual CTEPH patient. The multidisciplinary team includes clinicians, surgeons, interventionalists and radiologists. 

To make an appointment to discuss treatment for CTEPH, call the University of Michigan Health Frankel Cardiovascular Call Center at 888-287-1082.  

The clinical presentation of chronic pulmonary embolism is: 

• Progressively worsening shortness of breath 

• Fainting or near fainting episodes with exertion 

• Lightheadedness with exertion 

• Swelling of the legs 

If you have unexplained shortness of breath, ask your doctor about getting evaluated for CTEPH. A ventilation perfusion scan is a quick, non-invasive screening tool to look for CTEPH.

• Computed tomography (CT): Scan of the chest with iodine contrast to look for blood clots in the lung. It’s the best test to look for acute clots. It also helps in the diagnosis of chronic clots. It gives information about the lungs and blood vessels. 

• Chest X-ray: Provides a picture of the lungs and chest and helps rule out other possible conditions 

• Electrocardiogram (ECG): Helps differentiate a PE from a heart attack 

• Ventilation perfusion scan: A quick, non-invasive screening tool to look for CTEPH. It is the best test to rule out CTEPH, meaning a negative test makes it very unlikely CTEPH is present. If this test is positive, further evaluation is warranted. 

• Echocardiogram: Helps diagnose heart function and estimate pressures in the lungs.  

• Right heart catheterization and pulmonary angiography. It’s a necessary invasive test that helps confirm pulmonary hypertension and plan for what is the best treatment option. 

• Pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA) is the treatment of choice for appropriate CTEPH patients to relieve pulmonary artery blockages. PEA is a procedure to remove old blood clots from the pulmonary arteries in the lungs and restore blood flow.  

• Balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) and medications are also available for CTEPH patients who are not candidates for PEA surgery or who continue to have pulmonary hypertension after surgery. In BPA, intravascular catheters with balloon at their tips are used to selectively open the obstructive vessels.  

U-M Health Frankel Cardiovascular Center participates in the Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) Registry which collects information about patients with different forms of pulmonary hypertension, including CTEPH, in the United States, in an attempt to better understand this condition and how to provide better care. 

• Virtual support for people living with pulmonary hypertension