Margarida Maia, PhD, science writer —

A heart transplant may resolve the pulmonary hypertension (PH) often found in children with heart failure — the organ’s inability to pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs, a small study found. After the transplant, however, it took longer for blood pressure to normalize in children with congenital…

Most adults with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) experience no worsening and may even see a reduction in the severity of their symptoms after being on treatment with Uptravi (selexipag) for up to about 1.5 years. That’s according to a new analysis of data from all patients who took…

The matrix around the heart’s cells does not shrink and may continue to undergo changes after pulmonary endarterectomy, or PEA, a surgery to remove blood clots from the pulmonary arteries that supply the lungs, a small study found. Researchers suggest that fibrosis, or scarring, may explain why the heart’s size…

The gene coding for insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) may be involved in both pulmonary hypertension (PH) and pulmonary fibrosis (PF), offering a potential target for treating both diseases, a study suggests. That’s important because for many people with both PH and PF, a lung transplant may be…

Engaging in inspiratory muscle training for eight weeks may help people with pulmonary hypertension (PH) strengthen their respiratory (breathing) muscles and gain exercise capacity, a study suggests. This is important because inspiratory (breathing in) muscle training may offer a non-invasive approach to improve the quality of life and overall…

The risk of mortality is nine times greater for people who have signs of pulmonary hypertension (PH) on an echocardiogram when they get COVID-19, than people without these signs, a study finds. The study, “Pulmonary hypertension predicts higher mortality in patients admitted with severe COVID-19 infection,” was published…

Roughly one in four people with idiopathic (of unknown cause) pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) also have diabetes, a disease that causes high blood glucose (sugar), a multi-center Polish study found. Having diabetes was linked to more advanced pulmonary vascular disease and worse survival, which held true even after accounting…

Switching to Orenitram, an oral formulation of treprostinil, appears safe and may benefit some patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) who are not responding well to Uptravi (selexipag) or are experiencing side effects from such treatment. That’s according to data from a small group of 10 patients who…

People with precapillary pulmonary hypertension (PH) and a poorly working right ventricle may benefit from ranolazine, which is used for chest pain caused by heart disease. Data from a Phase 4 study where PH patients took ranolazine for about six months showed better right heart function and more sugar…

Developing chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) within two years after a venous thromboembolism (VTE), which occurs when a blood clot forms in a vein, nearly doubles the risk of long-term death, according to a large study from Denmark. Researchers also observed that all types of pulmonary hypertension (PH)…

MRE-269, an active metabolite of Uptravi (selexipag), is more effective at stopping the growth of lung cells from people with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) than it is in healthy lung cells, a study found. Researchers also discovered that MRE-269 may do this by increasing the activity of ID1…

Members from two families with diagnosed or suspected pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) each carried two copies of mutations that map to the CAPNS1 gene and are likely rare causes of the disease, according to a study. The study, “Biallelic variants in the calpain regulatory subunit CAPNS1 cause pulmonary…