title: Current pharmacological treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension.
abstract: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a disease characterized by an elevation in pulmonary artery pressure that can lead to right ventricular failure and death. Conventional treatment is based on non-specific drugs (warfarin, oxygen, diuretics). Pure vasodilators like calcium channel antagonists have little or no effect on the vast majority of patients. Although there is no cure for PAH, newer medical therapies have been shown to improve a variety of clinically relevant end-points including survival, functional class, exercise tolerance, haemodynamics, echocardiographic parameters and quality of life measures. Intravenous prostacyclin, was the first introduced drug for treatment of PAH and remains the first-line treatment for the most severe patients. Since then the list of approved drugs for PAH has expanded to include prostacyclin analogues with differing routes of administration, a dual endothelin receptor antagonist, and a phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor. Novel drugs have also shown promise in experimental trials and are likely to be added to the list of options. This article reviews the current treatments strategies for PAH.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pneumonology, Medical School, University Hospital of Alexandroupolis, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece.
authors.forename: Paschalis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Steiropoulos
authors.forename: Georgia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Trakada
authors.forename: Demosthenes
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bouros
mesh_terms: D000077300:Bosentan; D004232:Diuretics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011464:Epoprostenol / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D006976:Hypertension, Pulmonary / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D016285:Iloprost / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D010879:Piperazines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011687:Purines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000068677:Sildenafil Citrate; D013449:Sulfonamides / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013450:Sulfones / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D004232:Diuretics; D010879:Piperazines; D011687:Purines; D013449:Sulfonamides; D013450:Sulfones; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D000068677:Sildenafil Citrate; D011464:Epoprostenol; D016285:Iloprost; D000077300:Bosentan