Treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension(PAH)

The 2009 European Guidelines on Diagnosis and Treatment of PulmonaryHypertension have been adopted for Germany. The guidelines containdetailed recommendations for the treatment of pulmonary arterialhypertension (PAH). However, the practical implementation of the EuropeanGuidelines in Germany requires the consideration of several country-specificissues and already existing novel data. This requires a detailedcommentary to the guidelines, and in some aspects an update alreadyappears necessary. In June 2010, a Consensus Conference organizedby the PH working groups of the German Society of Cardiology (DGK),the German Society of Respiratory Medicine (DGP) and the German Societyof Pediatric Cardiology (DGPK) was held in Cologne, Germany. Thisconference aimed to solve practical and controversial issues surroundingthe implementation of the European Guidelines in Germany. To thisend, a number of working groups was initiated, one of which wasspecifically dedicated to the treatment of PAH. This commentarysummarizes the results and recommendations of the working groupon treatment of PAH.