The treatment of Pulmonary Hypertension

Before 1990, there were very few treatments available for pulmonary hypertension and the survival rate was approximately two to four years.

Since that time, a number of exciting and important new treatments have become available that are able to slow progression of the disease and may even reverse some of the damage to lungs and heart.

Still newer treatments are in the research phase or in clinical trial stages. Before a treatment can be prescribed it is important to determine the type of PH a patient has and, if possible, determine the cause of PH. If PH is caused by some other disease or condition, the cause must be treated in addition to treating PH.

Current treatments (click for details)

• Oxygen therapy
• PH drug therapy
• Calcium channel blockers
• Endothelin Receptor Antagonists (ERA’s)
• Viagra/Revatio (sildenafil)
• Other Common Therapies used in PH
• PH surgical treatments
• Atrial septostomy
• Transplant surgery
• Pulmonary endarterectomy

It is important to understand that while all drugs can have side effects, there needs to be a balanced approach to dealing with them. PH is a serious disease and needs to be treated effectively. If the side effect is very troublesome, then there may need to be a change in the medication, but if the side effects are mild and not very troublesome, then there may be good reason to persevere with it. If in doubt, always ask and ask sooner rather than later! A quick phone call to the PH specialist team can save problems developing and save any unnecessary worry.

Surgical treatments are used in some of the more severe cases but with the existing and newer drug therapies that will be used in the future the outlook for the PH patient is looking ever brighter.