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New Pharmacotherapies for Pulmonary Hypertension: Where Do They Fit in?

  • Pulmonary Hypertension (N Hill, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare, progressively worsening disease characterized by dysfunction among endothelial and smooth muscle cells within the pulmonary vasculature with a resultant increase in pulmonary vascular resistance, right ventricular maladaptation and failure, and ultimately early death. The three major therapeutic classes of medications available to treat PAH act as either prostacyclin analogs or endothelin receptor antagonists (ERAs) or by increasing local nitric oxide (NO) levels by means of phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors. Several recent trials have investigated the use of oral prostanoid therapy, next-generation ERAs, and soluble guanylate cyclase stimulators (to increase NO levels) as well as novel formulations of pre-existing therapies. The goal of this manuscript is to briefly review established therapies and then discuss recent developments and practical considerations in each of the major drug classes.

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Conflict of Interest

Aaron M. Wolfson and Nathaniel Steiger declare no conflict of interest. Mardi Gomberg-Maitland has received funding for clinical trials from Actelion, Gilead, Medtronic, Novartis, Lung Biotechnology, Reata, and Ventripoint; she has served as a consultant for Actelion, Bayer, Gilead, Medtronic, Merck, Bellerophon, and United Therapeutics; she has received honoraria for CME from Medscape and ABComm.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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  1. Section of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, 5841S Maryland Ave, MC5403, L08, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA

    Aaron M. Wolfson, Nathaniel Steiger & Mardi Gomberg-Maitland

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  1. Aaron M. Wolfson
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  2. Nathaniel Steiger
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Correspondence to Mardi Gomberg-Maitland.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Pulmonary Hypertension

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Wolfson, A.M., Steiger, N. & Gomberg-Maitland, M. New Pharmacotherapies for Pulmonary Hypertension: Where Do They Fit in?. Curr Hypertens Rep 16, 496 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11906-014-0496-y

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