PULMONARY HYPERTENSION AND CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE IN CHILDREN WITH CHRONIC UPPER AIRWAY OBSTRUCTION - NEW CONCEPTS OF ETIOLOGIC FACTORS

Four cases of cor pulmonale secondary to alveolar hypoventilation from chronic upper airway obstruction (enlarged tonsils and adenoids) are presented with a review of the previously reported cases. The findings suggest that, in addition to the chronically obstructed airway, a racial predilection, a defect of the central nervous system causing abnormal respiratory control, and a hyperreactive pulmonary vascular bed must also be present for the development of this unusual syndrome. © 1969.