ABSTRACT

The treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) has evolved in recent years due to the improvement in the knowledge of its physiopathology. In general terms, PAH treatment can be divided in: general measures (that includes changes in lifestyle); conventional therapy needs to be idividualized and includes digoxin, diuretics and oxygen; and specific treatment with drugs like calcium channel blockers (in responder patients), prostanoids, endothelin antagonists and phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors. Some of these drugs have shown an improvement in survival, however, mortality is still high. One of the new lines of treatment includes combination therapy.

KEYWORDS

Pulmonary arterial hypertension, prostanoids, endothelin antagonists, phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors.

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