Progress and Future in Pulmonary Hypertension Clinic

There is a remarkable advance in the treatment of pulmonary hypertension (PH). In patients with IPAH, the combination of anti-PH drugs substantially reduces the pulmonary artery pressure and has improved the prognosis. In addition new drugs are also being developed and, thus, it can be said that PH is one of the hottest region in the cardiovascular diseases. Curative treatment for chronic pulmonary arterial thromboembolism (CTEPH) is the surgical pulmonary endarterectomy. Now balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) is performed on the peripheral lesions not to its adaptation, and it dramatically reduces pulmonary artery pressure and improved patients' QOL. Early diagnosis and aggressive treatment is usefulness in PH associated with collagen diseases. However, there are many problems to be solved. In the treatment of IPAH, it remains unknown how the treatment goal is and what drug combinations is the best. Pulmonary veno-occlusive disease and pulmonary capillary hemangiomatosis are two unusual disorders to manifest PH, and the present medical treatment is not effective to these disorders. Number of patients with adult congenital heart disease increases and treatment of the associated PH is a major challenge. It remains unknown what is the optimal pulmonary artery pressure in patients with the Fontan surgery, or which is better “treat & repair” or “repair & treat” in patients with PH and shunt disease. In this plenary session, we would like discuss the etiologies of PH, the latest treatment results, and the potential of new therapies to feel the future of PH clinic.