Lecture 13 Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Flashcards
What is type 5 PH
Type 5 is unclear/multifactorial pulmonary hypertension. This is where the cause of the disease is allusive or the result of a combination of factors
What is the issue of prostanoid delivery
Due to their rapid half-life prostanoids need to either be delivered by inhalation or continuous infusion which as the added problem that they need to be continuously cooled. This is really inconvenient for patients
How does systolic pressure in the aorta and pulmonary artery differ
Aortic systolic blood pressure is much higher at 100-140mmHg compared to the pulmonary artery pressure which is around 15-30mmHg
Tolerance is also a big issue with prostanoid usage T or F
T
What is the key difference between PH and PAH
PAH is PH but driven solely by vascular changes
What intervention is carried out when a patient is suspected of having PH
Right heart cardiac catheterisation. A catheter is inserted into the jugular vein and tracks back to the right atria and right ventricles where it records the blood pressure. The attached balloon then directs the catheter to the pulmonary artery where it takes another recording. These pressures can be used to determine if the patient indeed has PH
What is the clinical definition of pulmonary hypertension
A mean pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) over 25mmHg
What are the five classes of drugs used to treat PH
Endothelin receptor antagonists (ERAs) Ca2+ channel blocker (CCBs) soluble guanylate cyclase stimulators PDE5 inhibitors and prostanoids
Give an example of a sGC stimulator drug
Riociguat
How can the prostaglandin pathway be targeted in the treatment of PH
PGI2 analogues and IP-R agonists can be administered in order to trigger vasodilation
What is type 2 PH
Type 2 is pulmonary hypertension due to left heart disease. This often means patients will have problems with left ventricular function but can also be due to problems with the heart valves. This is the most mild form of the disease and as such there are no specific treatments
How can PDE5 be targeted in the treatment of PH
PDE5 inhibitors prevent cGMP breakdown effectively increasing levels of the signalling compound. This acts to decrease Ca2+ levels and increase the activity of PKG. PKG phosphorylates and increases the activity of MLCP which in turn dephosphorylates myosin. These two mechanisms act together to prevent vasoconstriction and promote vasodilation hence reducing PAP
What side effects are associated with PDE5 inhibition
Headache flushing epistaxis altered colour vision non-ischaemic optic neuropathy and priaprism
How might a patient with PH present
Progressive exertional breathlessness and chest pain as well as syncopal episodes after exertion
PH patients often can have low cardiac output T or F
T
What is the biggest problem with prostanoid usage
Prostanoids aren’t very stable as the PGI2 half-life is 2mins and hence analogues of this compound will also be broken down quickly. Even the best PGI2 analogues have a half-life of only 3 – 4.5 hours. This effects the way in which the drugs can be delivered
What is meant by pulmonary capillary wedge pressure
PCWP is essential an estimation of left atrial pressure and is also equivalent to the left ventricular end diastolic pressure
What is the clinical definition of pulmonary arterial hypertension
This is where there is a mean PAP over 25mmHg but the hypertension is driven by vascular changes. These patients will have a LVEDP below 15mmHg and a pulmonary vascular resistance over 240dyn s-1 cm-5
Recall the equation for peripheral vascular resistance
PVR = (Mean PAP – PCWP) / CO
What are the unique problems associated with inhaled prostanoid use
Inhalation is required 6-9 times daily and is not without side effects. It can often cause syncopal episodes as well as a cough
What is type 4 PH
Type 4 is known as chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) and is the only curable form of pulmonary hypertension. This is where blood clots lodge into the pulmonary circulation blocking the flow of blood to a region of the lung. Usually surgical removal of the clot resolves the condition
What are the side effective associated with CCBs
Systemic hypotension bradycardia and peripheral oedema
How are PDE5 inhibitors used in combination to treat PH
Multiple PDE5 inhibitors are often together they can also have the addition of an ET-1 antagonist or used in combination with inhaled iloprost
What are the overall effects of prostanoid therapy
Vasodilatation of the pulmonary and systemic arterial vascular beds. Will also lower PAP and PVR and reduce right ventricular afterload. Finally prostanoids inhibit proliferation of human pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells
What mechanism can cause vascular remodelling in PH
Endothelial cells become dysfunctional and die by apoptosis. Serum factors released by the apoptotic endothelium then act on the smooth muscle to cause proliferation. Hence you get a narrowing of the vessel
What is the benefit of bosentan over other endothelin antagonists
Bosentan in ETA selective so doesn’t prevent the negative feedback loop that acts as a vasodilatory mechanism
What is type 1 PH
Type 1 is classical pulmonary arterial hypertension. Although rare most drugs target this form of the disease
Outline some of the new targets that drugs are being developed for in the treatment of PH
Receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors that target PDGFR/VEGFR cytokines targeted by biologicals elastase inhibitors