[Medical treatment of pulmonary hypertension: what's new?]

Internist (Berl). 2015 May;56(5):573-82. doi: 10.1007/s00108-015-3693-0.
[Article in German]

Abstract

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a chronic progressive disease of the pulmonary circulation of multifactorial causes. The current diagnostic classification of PH distinguishes five main groups, which have as a common feature an increased pulmonary arterial pressure and pulmonary resistance. The classification differentiates pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), PH due to left heart disease, PH in lung diseases and/or hypoxia, chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH), and PH with unclear/multifactorial mechanisms. Recent advances in basic research with the approval of new drugs and the establishment of therapeutic strategies, mainly in PAH and CTEPH, require a differentiated view of the disease, a careful diagnosis and initiation of therapy, and regular follow-ups. In this article, we provide an overview of the complex drug therapy currently available for PAH patients.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Antihypertensive Agents / administration & dosage*
  • Endothelin Receptor Antagonists / administration & dosage*
  • Evidence-Based Medicine
  • Guanylate Cyclase
  • Humans
  • Hypertension, Pulmonary / diagnosis
  • Hypertension, Pulmonary / drug therapy*
  • Phosphodiesterase 5 Inhibitors / administration & dosage*
  • Prostaglandins / administration & dosage*
  • Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear / agonists*
  • Soluble Guanylyl Cyclase
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Antihypertensive Agents
  • Endothelin Receptor Antagonists
  • Phosphodiesterase 5 Inhibitors
  • Prostaglandins
  • Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear
  • Guanylate Cyclase
  • Soluble Guanylyl Cyclase