Pulmonary Hypertension in Heart Failure

Background: Pulmonary hypertension occurs in 60% to 80% of patients with heart failure and is associated with high morbidity and mortality Methods and Results: Pulmonary artery pressure correlates with increased left ventricular end-diastolic pressure, Therefore. pulmonary hypertension is a common feature of heart failure with preserved as well as reduced systolic function Pulmonary hypertension is partially reversible with normalization of cardiac filling pressures Pulmonary vasculature remodeling and vasoconstriction create a second component. which does not reverse immediately, but has been shown to improve with vasoactive drugs and especially with left ventricular assist devices Conclusion: Many drugs used for idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension ale being considered as treatment options for heart failure-related pulmonary hypertension This is of particular significance in the heart transplant population Randomized clinical trials with in targeting heart failure patients with elevated pulmonary artery pressure would be justified (J Cardiac Fail 2010.16 461-474)