Medical and surgical treatment options for pulmonary hypertension

Significant advances in the treatment of pulmonary hypertension have been achieved in the past decade. Approximately one quarter of patients with primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH) can be effectively managed with chronic calcium channel blocker therapy; for the remainder, transplantation or continuous intravenous epoprostenol are complex but effective approaches. Epoprostenol therapy was initially envisioned as a bridge to transplantation, but recent experience has established this approach as an alternative to transplantation in some patients, with comparable survival rates. Not all patients derive benefit from epoprostenol, however, and adverse effects are common. Accordingly, patients who fall into New York Heart Association Functional Classes III and IV and who are refractory to oral vasodilator therapy should be evaluated both for the initiation of epoprostenol therapy and concurrent listing for transplantation. By delaying or avoiding transplantation through the use of epoprostenol, these patients may also benefit from ongoing research that targets novel therapeutic approaches and less cumbersome delivery mechanisms. Thus, epoprostenol may serve as a bridge to transplantation for some patients and to newer therapeutic options for others.