PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Aisling Mary Smith AU - Philip T Levy AU - Orla Franklin AU - Eleanor Molloy AU - Afif EL-Khuffash TI - Pulmonary hypertension and myocardial function in infants and children with Down syndrome AID - 10.1136/archdischild-2019-318178 DP - 2020 Nov 01 TA - Archives of Disease in Childhood PG - 1031--1034 VI - 105 IP - 11 4099 - http://adc.bmj.com/content/105/11/1031.short 4100 - http://adc.bmj.com/content/105/11/1031.full SO - Arch Dis Child2020 Nov 01; 105 AB - Down Syndrome (DS) is the most common chromosomal abnormality of live born babies. Individuals with DS are at increased risk of cardiopulmonary morbidities in the early neonatal period, infancy and childhood that manifest with elevated pulmonary arterial pressures and altered myocardial performance. Pulmonary hypertension (PH) during the early neonatal period remains under-recognised in this population. PH may occur with or without a congenital heart defect in children with DS and is more common than in the general population. Early detection and continued screening of PH throughout infancy and childhood for these at-risk children is crucial for prompt intervention and potential prevention of long-term sequelae on cardiac function. This review summarises the main physiological concepts behind the mechanisms of PH in children with DS and provides a summary of the current available literature on PH and its impact on myocardial performance.