title: Standard therapies for pulmonary arterial hypertension.
abstract: After half a century of clinical experience and research, management of pulmonary arterial hypertension remains a challenge. Currently, data to support the use of standard therapies for pulmonary arterial hypertension (oxygen supplementation, diuretics, digoxin, anticoagulation, and calcium channel blockers) are mostly retrospective, uncontrolled prospective, or derived from other diseases with similar but not identical manifestations. In the absence of any further prospective, controlled studies, it is reasonable to use these therapies when they are tolerated. When these therapies are poorly tolerated, however, the threshold for discontinuation should be low.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Penn State University-Hershey Medical Center, 500 University Drive, Hershey, PA 17033, USA. shoaibalam@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Shoaib
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alam
authors.forename: Harold I
authors.initials: HI
authors.lastname: Palevsky
mesh_terms: D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015897:Comorbidity; D004232:Diuretics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D006976:Hypertension, Pulmonary / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000502:physiology; D010102:Oxygen Inhalation Therapy; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000503:physiopathology; D013148:Spironolactone / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D000925:Anticoagulants; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D004232:Diuretics; D013148:Spironolactone; D009569:Nitric Oxide