Treatment

There are many causes of pulmonary vascular disease which will determine what treatment strategy is best.

1. Vasodilators: There are 15 approved vasodilators approved in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension. These medications have been shown to make patients feel better, walk farther, and (probably) live longer. These can also be used for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH)
   • Phosphodiesterase 5- Inhibitor (PDE-5i)
   • Endothelin Receptor Antagonist (ERA)
   • Soluble Guanylate Cyclase (sGC) Stimulator
   • Prostacyclin
2. Diuretics: These are used in all types of heart failure, and we recognize the importance of aldosterone blockers like spironolactone moreso than many of our physician colleagues
3. Iron Supplementation: Iron deficiency (often severe) is quite common in the patients we see and we believe this is related to poor absorption. IV iron is often quite helpful and we facilitate these infusions at the University’s Highland Hospital.
4. CPAP/BiPAP
5. Surgical Evaluation