[Pulmonary hypertension - historical development, current therapy and perspectives]

This article provides a brief overview on the history of pulmonary hypertension, starting with the first descriptions of the accompanying pulmonary vascular lesions by Ernst von Romberg and Victor Eisenmenger at the end of the 19th century. Many of the histopathological changes in the pulmonary vasculature found in the various forms of pulmonary hypertension had already been described in the first half of the 20th century. However, only through the pioneering work by Forssmann and Cournand during the middle of the 20th century was it finally possible to catheterise the right ventricle and the pulmonary arteries. After this it became feasible to study the clinical spectrum of the various forms of pulmonary hypertension as well as the effects of therapeutic interventions. Early treatment attempts with vasodilators, however, were not successful. Intravenous prostacyclin, used to treat some forms of pulmonary hypertension since 1980, became the first effective treatment. Since that time, our understanding of the pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension has increased substantially, as has the number of effective therapies, at least for some forms of pulmonary hypertension. Many aspects of the disease, however, remain poorly understood and a cure is still not achievable for the majority of the affected patients.