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PMID: 17323595 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Review

Sildenafil in the treatment of pulmonary hypertension.

Vascular health and risk management ·Vol. 2 ·No. 4 ·2006-00-00 ·Pages 411-22

Barnett CF, Machado RF

Abstract

The therapy of pulmonary hypertension has evolved rapidly in the last 10 years from the use of non-selective vasodilators to drugs that specifically target pulmonary vasodilation, endothelial function, and vascular remodeling. Sildenafil is a phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor that has an expanding role in the treatment of pulmonary hypertension. Case series and small studies, as well as the first large randomized controlled trial, have demonstrated the safety and efficacy of sildenafil in improving mean pulmonary artery pressure, pulmonary vascular resistance, cardiac index, and exercise tolerance in pulmonary arterial hypertension. It may be useful in adults, children, and neonates after cardiac surgery, with left heart failure, in fibrotic pulmonary disease, high altitude exposure, and thromboembolic disease, and in combination with other therapies for pulmonary hypertension, such as inhaled iloprost. The oral formulation and favorable adverse effect profile make sildenafil an attractive alternative in the treatment of selected patients with pulmonary hypertension.

MeSH Terms
3',5'-Cyclic-GMP Phosphodiesterases/antagonists & inhibitors Administration, Oral Antihypertensive Agents/administration & dosage,pharmacology,therapeutic use Blood Pressure/drug effects Cyclic Nucleotide Phosphodiesterases, Type 5 Drug Therapy, Combination Humans Hypertension, Pulmonary/drug therapy,physiopathology Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors/administration & dosage,pharmacology,therapeutic use Piperazines/administration & dosage,adverse effects,therapeutic use Pulmonary Artery/drug effects,physiopathology Purines/administration & dosage,adverse effects,therapeutic use Sildenafil Citrate Sulfones/administration & dosage,adverse effects,therapeutic use Treatment Outcome Vasodilator Agents/administration & dosage,pharmacology,therapeutic use
Chemicals
Antihypertensive Agents Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors Piperazines Purines Sulfones Vasodilator Agents Sildenafil Citrate 3',5'-Cyclic-GMP Phosphodiesterases Cyclic Nucleotide Phosphodiesterases, Type 5 PDE5A protein, human
Authors & Affiliations
2 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Barnett Christopher F
Critical Care Medicine Department, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Machado Roberto F
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Article Info
Journal
Vascular health and risk management
Abbr.
Vasc Health Risk Manag
ISSN
1176-6344
DOI
10.2147/vhrm.2006.2.4.411
Published
2006-00-00
Pages
411-22
Language
English
Region
New Zealand
NLM ID
101273479
PMCID
PMC1994020
Subset
IM
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.2147/vhrm.2006.2.4.411 PMC Full Text View journal details
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