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As the supplier of the body’s blood, the heart must also supply its own blood to keep itself nourished and oxygenated. The heart’s blood supply comes from the coronary arteries, which receive oxygenated blood from the pulmonary veins. Normally, the heart receives enough oxygenated blood, but with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH)…

Targeting a mutation common to 15-40% of cases of idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) with a specific drug target may help cure heritable forms of PAH. A study from Dr. Nicholas W. Morrell’s laboratory at the University of Cambridge reversed the signs of PAH in mice treated with bone-morphogenetic protein…

Understanding the science behind chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) has come a long way since, originally, a diagnosis was made postmortem. Although it is commonly underdiagnosed and undertreated, CTEPH can be cured via pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA), a technique that dates back almost to the first diagnosis of CTEPH. “At the…

In a recent study entitled “Akt inhibitor, triciribine, ameliorates chronic hypoxia-induced vascular pruning and TGFβ-induced pulmonary fibrosis,” researchers show that triciribine is a potential new treatment for interstitial lung disease, particularly pulmonary fibrosis and pulmonary hypertension. The study was published in the British Journal of…

When exploring the origins of pulmonary arterial hypertension, researchers regard injuries to the endothelium of blood vessels as an important factor leading to the development of the disease, as remodeling in the pulmonary vessels can lead to increased pressure and resistance in the arteries. In order to address endothelium injury and create new…

The Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) recently announced the accreditation of nine new institutions as established Pulmonary Hypertension Care Centers (PHCC). The granting of this status recognizes excellency and specialization in the treatment of patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH), and the addition of nine more PHCC expands the…

On June 12, 2015 a PhD thesis entitled “Vascular remodeling in pulmonary hypertension” will be presented by Ya-Ting Chang at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. Chang’s research focuses on pulmonary hypertension, a life-threatening condition of multifactorial etiology, characterized by the increase of blood pressure in the pulmonary arteries that…

As more scientific studies are conducted to understand pulmonary hypertension, it is becoming more apparent that pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) are important to the pathology of pulmonary hypertension. A group of researchers at the Pittsburgh Heart, Lung, Blood, and Vascular Medicine Institute recently reported on the advances in therapies…

Researchers in Brazil and the United Kingdom have identified another reason to get up and get moving. In the report titled “Voluntary Exercise Delays Heart Failure Onset in Rats with Pulmonary Artery Hypertension,” published in the American Journal of Physiology Heart and Circulatory Physiology, a…

A previous study identified an increased risk of persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) in mothers taking the most prescribed class of antidepressant medications in the second half of pregnancy, known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). As a result, in 2006, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a public health advisory on a…

UT Southwestern Medical Center recently announced that it has performed its 500th lung transplant, placing it in an exclusive group that includes fewer than 25 American medical institutions. Lung transplantation is often the only option for patients who suffer from life-threatening conditions, such as pulmonary hypertension (PH) or cystic…

Acute pulmonary arterial hypertension can result from metastatic cancer complications. Pulmonary tumor thrombotic microangiopathy (PTTM), which is one of these complications, occurs in 1.4% of patients who die of cancer, and death is due to right heart strain and cardiorespiratory arrest. Unfortunately, PTTM is difficult to diagnose in patients, as…