Review of the diagnosis and pharmacological management of pulmonary arterial hypertension in connective tissue disease
Abstract Connective-tissue-disease-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension (CTD-PAH) is a well-recognised pulmonary complication most commonly seen in patients with systemic sclerosis, followed by systemic lupus erythematosus and mixed connective tissue disease. In systemic-sclerosis-associated-pulmonary arterial hypertension (SSc-PAH), patients usually present late and the progression can be rapid with poor prognosis and survival. Early detection and prompt intervention of SSc-PAH is an important cornerstone to halt the disease progression. Various pulmonary vasodilatory agents were developed over the past two decades. They were shown to improve patients’ symptoms, functional status, exercise capacity, haemodynamics and long-term survival. Other immunosuppressive therapies also demonstrated to improve symptoms and functional status in certain group of patients. This article is to review the diagnosis and pharmacological management of patient with CTD-PAH.