Quality of life is an important measure of patient health and treatment effectiveness, but often overlooked in people with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). A review of such measurements in this patient group found plenty of room for improvement both in tools selected and their use — and called for more research on the…
News
Brad A. Wong of San Rafael, California, has been appointed President and CEO of the Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA), a position he assumes on June 19. Wong’s appointment by the PHA Board of Trustees coincides with the association’s 25th anniversary. The second CEO in PHA’s history, he has served has executive…
Monotherapy given to patients with congenital heart defects associated with pulmonary arterial hypertension, or PAH-CHD, improved their exercise capacity more than a combined therapy, researchers report. The study, “Effect of dual pulmonary vasodilator therapy in pulmonary arterial hypertension associated with congenital heart disease: a retrospective analysis,” was published in the journal Open…
Wall shear stress in the main pulmonary artery was found to be associated with worse hemodynamic parameters, as well as vessel stiffness and remodeling, in pulmonary hypertension patients. Findings in the study, published in the journal Pulmonary Circulation, suggest that measures of wall shear stress offer a new and non-invasive way to…
Elderly people at increased risk of pulmonary hypertension (PH) are increasingly also being diagnosed with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Diagnosis and management in this group can be quite challenging, and a report from Geneva University Hospitals suggested that all elderly patients with suspected PAH should be referred to an expert center for…
To mark World PH Day on May 5, the Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) will join with 80 other groups worldwide in celebrating the progress made in their common fight against pulmonary hypertension, an often-misdiagnosed and life-threatening lung disease. “In 25 years, here in the U.S., we’ve gone from zero to 14…
The Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) announced the launch of “PH Care for All,” an initiative to address disparities in the treatment of pulmonary hypertension (PH) among minorities and low-income patients in the United States, and led by 26 highly regarded PH specialists. “With fourteen treatments — which is as many or more…
On May 5, more than 80 organizations around the world will participate in activities designed to raise awareness of this often-misdiagnosed disease and to celebrate the lives of people living with what is called pulmonary hypertension (PH), or pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) — a condition of high blood pressure in…
Praxair, Inc., announced that it has received approval, through a subsidiary, for the sale of its Noxivent brand of inhaled nitric oxide in Canada. Noxivent is indicated for the treatment of newborns, including some born prematurely, suffering respiratory failure associated with clinical or echocardiographic evidence of pulmonary hypertension (PH). PH in neonates can…
Researchers from Chungbuk National University, Korea, found that ranolazine (Ranexa), a drug used to treat coronary heart disease, effectively reduced the structural remodeling of the heart’s right ventricle in an animal model of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The results suggested that targeting right ventricle disease could delay PAH progression in people.
Blocking the enzyme sphingosine kinase 1 (SK1) reduced right ventricle enlargement in a mouse model of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), while having no impact on blood vessel remodeling. The findings, published in the journal Cellular Signalling, highlighted disease mechanisms potentially crucial for future drug development. Scientists have…
Karos Pharmaceuticals announced that is advancing its small molecule drug candidate, KAR5585, in clinical testing as a treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and other rare diseases characterized by fibrosis. A number of agents have recently been introduced as therapeutic drugs for PAH. Among them, KAR5585 is a first-in-class, selective inhibitor of an enzyme…
