Sildenafil Pulmonary Hypertension

Sildenafil for the Treatment of Pulmonary Hypertension
Sildefil is a selective inhibitor of PDE5 or Phosphodiesterase type 5. PDE5 is present in the entire body with high concentrations in the lungs. The inhibition of PDE5 increases the vasodilatory effects of nitric oxide in pulmonary hypertension through the prevention of the degradation of cyclic guanosime monophosphate that encourages relaxation of the vascular smooth muscle and increase of blood flow.

Sildenafil and Pulmonary Hypertension
Sildenafil is an effectual treatment in the rare disease pulmonary arterial hypertension or PAH. It makes the arterial wall relax, which leads to the reduction of pulmonary arterial resistance and pressure. This will result in the decreases of the workload of the right ventricle of the heart and improves symptoms of right-sided heart failure.

Pulmonary hypertension is one of the most childhood diseases that are hard to treat. It is a progressive disease with a poor diagnosis the may eventually lead to right ventricular failure and death. Patients with the severe pattern of this disease need to undergo prolong therapeutic treatments with Sildenafil.

The therapeutic applications that are currently available have certain limitations. Sildenafil takes a better role in the treatment as it inhibits the PDE5. It is a well tolerated drug in either intravenous or oral forms and with continuous medication of about 3 months can improve both the pulmonary haemodynamics and the clinical status of persons with pulmonary hypertension.

Because PDE-5 is mainly allocated within the arterial wall of the smooth muscle of the lungs and penis, sildenafil works carefully in both these body parts without the induction of vasodilation in the other parts of the body.

Side Effects of Sildenafil
Like most drugs Sildenafil has adverse side effects like the following:
Headache
Nasal Congestion
Vision Impairment (Photophobia and Blurred Vision)
Cyanopsia
Severe Hypotension
Myocardial Infarction
Stroke
Intraocular Pressure
Hearing Loss
Sildenafil is not recommended for women as it may have adverse affects in pregnancy too.

Patients taking protease inhibitors are also not advised to take this drug. Protease inhibitors are medication treatments for HIV. This drug inhibits the metabolism of Sildenafil and might cause severity in the side effects. If a patient is taking protease inhibitors the intake of Sildenafil must be limited to only up to 25 mg dose every 48 hours. Sildenafil when taken with an alpha blocker also lead to low blood pressure, so they should be taken at least 4 hours apart.