Tadalafil: the evidence for its clinical potential in the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), characterized by increased pulmonary artery pressures in the absence of elevated pulmonary venous pressures, is a progressive disease associated with reduced exercise capacity and increased mortality risk. Current treatments for PAH include nonspecific vasodilators, prostacyclin and related analogs, and endothelin receptor antagonists. Since phosphodiesterase type 5 is highly expressed in pulmonary vascular tissues, agents that selectively inhibit phosphodiesterase type 5 activity induce pulmonary arterial vasodilatation, and are being developed for the treatment of PAH.

Aims

The purpose of this review is to evaluate the existing evidence for the use of tadalafil, a selective phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor, in PAH.

E

SUBMITTER: Katz SD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3012445 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature