Magdalena Kegel,  —

Savara’s inhaled sodium nitrite therapy Aironite lowered blood pressure in the upper and lower heart chambers and pulmonary artery of pulmonary hypertension patients, according to an update of a Phase 2 clinical trial. The most improvement occurred in PH patients with a condition known as heart failure with preserved ejection…

Compounds that increase the amount of blood flowing through heart vessels can benefit people with pulmonary hypertension (PH) and chronic left heart disease who have decreased blood-pumping ability, according to an analysis of several studies. The compounds are phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE5) inhibitors such as Revatio (sildenafil). They prevent an enzyme called…

Bellerophon Therapeutics recently offered an update on the company’s INOpulse system, as part of its first quarter 2017 financial report. The system is in clinical testing as a therapy for three types of pulmonary hypertension. The Phase 3 INOpulse program for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) has been modified to speed up its clinical development.

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) only rarely affects children born with the genetic condition incontinentia pigmenti, illustrating that researchers lack insights into how molecular abnormalities translate into problems in the heart and lungs. A case report by researchers from Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah International Medical Research Center in Riyadh illustrates the condition, and…

Adcirca (tadalafil) improved the pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) of 29 percent of patients in a real-world study in Japan, researchers said. They two-year study also found the treatment to be safe, with acceptable rates of side effects. A real-world study covers a patient group with a wider range of characteristics than…

A researcher exploring stem cells to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), among other heart conditions, was recently inducted into the Johns Hopkins University Society of Scholars — an honorable group of scientists who include both Nobel laureates and Lasker Award winners. Eduardo Marbán, MD, PhD, director…

The discovery of a molecular factor that triggers blood clots in lung arteries may explain why chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) often occurs in patients without traditional clotting risk factors, according to a study. Researchers think the factor, called activated TAFI, could be used to identify those with CTEPH. And…

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) patients who take statins live longer than those who don’t — despite similar histories of hospitalization in both groups. That’s the conclusion of a retrospective analysis by researchers at New York’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine, who also found that statin use had no effect on survival rates in…

Patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) caused by connective tissue disease benefit from treatment with Adcirca (tadalafil), but their outcomes aren’t as good as patients with idiopathic PAH, an analysis of data from two clinical trials indicates. Safety was a particular problem with connective tissue disease patients, the evaluation…

Vasopressor medications can trigger pulmonary hypertension by increasing blood volume rather than constricting blood vessels in the lungs, according to a study. This insight may improve the management of patients treated with vasopressors, particularly those who also have heart disease, researchers said. Vasopressors are used to treat extremely low blood…

Researchers suggest that routine echocardiographic (ECG) screening for pulmonary hypertension (PH) in premature infants might only be needed if certain risk factors are evident. While the proposed approach would identify most children affected and be of help to hospitals, researchers acknowledge that lung hypertension might go undetected in some babies. The change is estimated to…

Dave Merryman, a researcher at Tennessee’s Vanderbilt University, has received $6 million to develop new treatments for pulmonary hypertension and other heart diseases. His research focuses on drugs initially intended to treat rheumatoid arthritis, and knowledge from failures of weight-loss drugs. Merryman, an associate professor of biomedical engineering, is currently developing treatments for heart…