Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: A Palliative Medicine Review of the Disease, Its Therapies, and Drug Interactions

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is often a progressive and ultimately fatal disease. It is characterized by an elevated mean pulmonary arterial pressure because of disease of the small pulmonary arterioles. PAH leads to a constellation of symptoms, including dyspnea, fatigue, syncope, chest discomfort, and peripheral edema. Disease-targeted therapies for PAH produce symptomatic and functional improvement, but long-term survival remains uncommon without lung transplantation. Palliative care is appropriate to support patients with advanced PAH who typically have a high symptom burden.

Source: Journal of Pain and Symptom Management - December 1, 2019 Category: Palliative Care Authors: David Christiansen, Sandra Porter, Lindsay Hurlburt, Andrea Weiss, John Granton, Kirsten Wentlandt Tags: Special Article Source Type: research