Treatment for pulmonary hypertension including lung transplantation

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a progressive disease characterized by sustained elevation in pulmonary arterial pressure and increased pulmonary vascular resistance, leading to right-sided ventricular failure. The untreated median survival period is 2-3 years from the time of diagnosis, with the cause of death usually being right-sided ventricular failure. However, outcomes have dramatically changed in recent years because of great advances in medical management of PH, including early diagnosis and new drugs such as prostaglandins, endothelin receptor antagonists, and phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors. Long-term continuous intravenous prostacyclin therapy has shown excellent results in patients with PH. More recently, a molecular-targeted agent, imatinib mesylate, that acts by specifically inhibiting a certain enzyme that is characteristic of a particular cancer cell, rather than nonspecifically inhibiting and killing all rapidly dividing cells, has also been shown to have a potential role in the treatment of PH. This drug has been shown to reduce both pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cell hypertrophy and hyperplasia in a variety of disease processes. We summarize here recent topics regarding PH and advances in treatments for PH, particularly pulmonary arterial hypertension, including lung transplantation.