title: Use of tadalafil for treating pulmonary arterial hypertension secondary to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
abstract: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) secondary to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is incurable and it has an unpredictable survival rate. Two men who suffered from COPD presented with progressive dyspnea and edema, respectively. PAH, as estimated by the peak velocity of tricuspidal regurgitation, and the depressed myocardial performance index (MPI) of the right ventricle (RV) were noted on echocardiography. In addition to the baseline therapy for their depressed ventilatory function, we prescribed tadalafil 10 mg orally every other day for 2 weeks and then we doubled the dosage. They well tolerated the medication without any notable side effects. After 4 weeks of tadalafil treatment, the patients' pulmonary arterial pressure was decreased and the MPI of the RV was improved in both. The exercise capacity, as measured by the respiratory oxygen uptake, also improved from 10.9 mL/kg/min to 13.8 mL/kg/min in one patient. We report here on 2 patients with PAH secondary to COPD, and they showed notable improvement of their pulmonary hemodynamics and exercise capacity with the administration of tadalafil.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Chonbuk National University Medical School, Jeonju, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun-Sook
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jae-Hyeong
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Seoung Ju
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Jong Kwan
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Heung-Bum
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D002243:Carbolines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017079:Exercise Tolerance / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D006976:Hypertension, Pulmonary / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000187:drug effects; D010726:Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011651:Pulmonary Artery / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology*; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000150:complications*; D000068581:Tadalafil
chemical_list: D002243:Carbolines; D010726:Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors; D000068581:Tadalafil