PPH Lawyer

Medications to Treat Primary Pulmonary Hypertension

After you have been diagnosed with Primary Pulmonary Hypertension (PPH), your doctor will create a medication cocktail for you in order to try to combat the symptoms of PPH and extend a patient’s life. The treatment process generally proceeds in stages that depend on how the patient reacts to previous medications or treatments. The initial phase identifies the degree to which the pulmonary arteries can be expanded by using medications for Pulmonary Hypertension. These include nitric oxide and other known vasodilators.

Patients who experience a drop in pulmonary vascular resistance will be given medications for PPH designed to control pulmonary pressure, such as oral calcium inhibitors or anticoagulants (drugs that make a person’s blood not clot). If this does not work, vasodilators will be combined with other medications.

Known vasodilators include Flolan, Remodulin, and Tracleer. Flolan and Remodulin are both injected but there are tests currently underway to get approval for an inhaled form of Remodulin. Both of these medications for Pulmonary Hypertension require that the patient wear a pack of some kind that releases the drug into the patient's system according to a timer. Tracleer is taken orally in pill form.

All of these medicines focus on alleviating symptoms rather than repairing the damaged blood vessels of the lungs. Medications for Pulmonary Hypertension often carry a high risk of side effects, such as the risk of sepsis associated with the use of Flolan, or birth defects resulting from Tracleer. In addition to these side effects, they are also extremely expensive. Many patients are still considering waiting for a lung transplant to be their best option.

If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with PPH, the lawyers of Williams Kherkher are here to help you in this difficult time. Contact a PPH lawyer at Williams Kherkher at 1-800-220-9341 to discuss your legal options and to schedule an initial consultation.