Re: Pulmonary Hypertension

Posted By CCF CARDIO MD - MTR on July 23, 1998 at 11:59:29:

In Reply to: Pulmonary Hypertension posted by Reneah on July 22, 1998 at 17:11:09:






Is there a connection between the use of Interferon to treat Hepatitis C and Pulmonary HTN?



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Dear Reneah, thank you for your question.  I did an extensive search of the
medical literature and I could not find any association between interferon
and pulmonary hypertension.  However, I did find that pulmonary HTN is rarely
associated with advanced liver disease, irrespective of treatment. It seems
that when the liver fails (from whatever cause: hepatitis, drugs, autoimmune
diseases, etc.), pulm HTN can develop in 2-3% of patients.  The cause of
pulm HTN has not been determined but it's thought that the liver doesn't process
certain hormones and chemicals that can react with the pulmonary arteries.
These chemicals can cause the lining of the pulmonary arteries to thicken and
the pulmonary blood pressure to subsequently increase.  When advanced pulm
HTN is present, liver transplantation is associated with worse outcomes, but
there have been reports of patients with moderate pulm HTN that resolved
after transplantation.  Pulm HTN can be identified non-invasively with an
echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart), but the definitive diagnosis can
only be made by inserting a catheter into the right side of the heart to measure
the pulmonary blood pressure directly.  Interferon is used to treat hepatits C,
but if pulm HTN is present, it is related to the underlying hepatits and not
the interferon.  I hope you find this information useful.
Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only.  Specific
diagnoses and therapies can only be provided by your physician.