Pulmonary edema with nifedipine in primary pulmonary hypertension.
Despite occasional case reports, vasodilator therapy of primary pulmonary hypertension remains unsatisfactory. Nifedipine, a calcium channel antagonist, has recently been recommended for the treatment of primary pulmonary hypertension. Transient mild side effects to this drug have been known. In this report we describe a case of primary pulmonary hypertension in whom oral nifedipine use was followed by fatal pulmonary edema. We suggest that nifedipine has the potential of causing life-threatening complications of pulmonary edema in patients with severe primary pulmonary hypertension, and in this condition it should be used cautiously.
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006976:Hypertension, Pulmonary / Q000188:drug therapy*; D009543:Nifedipine / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011654:Pulmonary Edema / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000628:therapy
D009543:Nifedipine