[Treatment of pulmonary hypertension].

Pulmonary hypertension is a difficult-to-diagnose, poor-prognosis disease that may be primary or secondary to other conditions. It is characterized by pulmonary vasoconstriction, in situ thrombosis, and altered endothelial function, which clinically manifests with dyspnea and other disabling symptoms for the patient. Conventional treatment includes oral anticoagulants together with oxygen supplementation, diuretics, and digoxin --according to concurrent conditions-- as well as vasodilators, traditionally calcium antagonists. In recent years novel vasodilators have been developed for use in the treatment of pulmonary hypertension-prostaglandins (epoprostenol, iloprost), endothelin-1 receptor antagonists (bosentan), nitric oxide, and sildenafil, among other drugs under study. However, question marks remain on the management of this disease, and further studies are needed to find a truly effective therapeutic option.