title: Primary pulmonary hypertension: effects of nifedipine.
abstract: The results of the medical treatment of primary pulmonary hypertension are usually very poor. A case of severe primary pulmonary hypertension in chronic heart failure was treated with the calcium antagonist nifedipine, a powerful vasodilator which acts directly on vascular smooth muscle. Nifedipine, administered in a dose of 20 mg sublingually, caused a pronounced fall in pulmonary and systemic vascular resistances (54 and 49%, respectively) and a rise in cardiac output (90.3%). Improvement was maintained over a three-month period. These data suggest that nifedipine can be used in the treatment of this condition.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003981:Diazoxide / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D006976:Hypertension, Pulmonary / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D009543:Nifedipine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011651:Pulmonary Artery; D011725:Pyridines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014655:Vascular Resistance / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D011725:Pyridines; D009543:Nifedipine; D003981:Diazoxide