Objective: Although endothelin receptor antagonists (ERAs) and phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors have become the most commonly used treatments for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) since their introduction in 2005, it remains unknown whether these medications play a significant role in the survival of Japanese patients with PAH.
Methods: The cardiac catheterization and survival data of 103 PAH patients were retrospectively reviewed. A comparison of survival benefits with regard to the type of PAH was completed in PAH patients diagnosed between 2005 and 2012 and those diagnosed between 1983 and 2004 and in patients undergoing treatment with ERAs and/or PDE5 inhibitors and those being treated with conventional therapy and/or oral beraprost. Although pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) at baseline differed, the more recent group showed better survival rates compared with those observed in the early group (5-year survival: 70.1% vs. 44.8) (p<0.05). In addition, the survival of PAH patients treated with ERAs and/or PDE5 inhibitors was superior to that of the patients treated without these medications (5- and 8-year survival: 77.8% and 66.7% vs. 39.0% and 37.0%, respectively) (p<0.05), especially in patient with idiopathic and heritable PAH.
Conclusion: Superior survival rates are observed in patients with idiopathic and heritable PAH after introduction of ERAs and PDE5 inhibitors, and the use of these drugs provides benefits for survival.