Group 1.1/1.2 Idiopathic and heritable PAH 
Idiopathic PAH describes a sporadic disease with neither a family history of PAH nor an identified risk factor. When PAH occurs in a familial context, germline mutations in the bone morphogenetic protein receptor 2 (BMPR2) gene, a member of the transforming growth factor beta (TGF- ß) signaling family, can be detected in about 70% of cases [6,7]. More rarely, mutations in activin receptor like kinase type 1 (ACVRL1 or ALK1) or endoglin genes, also coding for members of the TGF-ß signaling family, have been identified in patients with PAH, predominantly with coexistent hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia. Some authors suggested that mutations of genes encoding for Smads proteins (Smad8, Smad1 and Smad5), which are other members of the TGF-ß signaling pathway, or mutations in caveolin-1 gene may predispose to PAH [8-10].
BMPR2 mutations have also been detected in 11–40% of apparently idiopathic cases with no family history [11,12]. Indeed, the distinction between idiopathic and familial PAH with BMPR2 mutations is artificial, as all patients with a BMPR2 mutation have heritable disease. In addition, BMPR2 mutations were identified in only 70-80% families with PAH. Thus, it was decided to abandon the term “familial PAH” in favor of the term “heritable PAH”, including idiopathic PAH with germline mutations and familial cases with or without identified mutations [13,14].