SHORT-TERM EFFECTIVENESS OF NIFEDIPINE IN SECONDARY PULMONARY-HYPERTENSION

Vasodilators have been used as an effective treatment in patients with pulmonary hypertension. In some patients with primary pulmonary hypertension, dramatic successes have occurred resulting in marked reductions in pulmonary artery pressure and vascular resistance.1,2 In these patients, long-term sustained effects of calcium antagonists have been associated with regression of right ventricular hypertrophy and improved survival.2,3 Therefore, physicians have attempted to use vasodilators in patients with secondary pulmonary hypertension, although their effectiveness in these patients is not well documented. The present report analyzes our experience in 24 patients with secondary pulmonary hypertension who were tested with high doses of nifedipine according to a protocol developed for primary pulmonary hypertension.1. © 1993.