Patients who receive the intravenous therapy are required to continue it for the rest of their lives. Because they become tolerant to the drug, dosage must be increased on a regular basis. Side effects associated with the use of the drug have been minimal, according to McLaughlin, and involve a very slight risk of infection that can occur when patients mix the drug and reconnect the tubing to the catheter. Primary pulmonary hypertension traditionally has been treated with blood thinners which improve survival rates but do not make patients feel better or permit them to resume activities they had to give up when their symptoms became more severe. About 20 percent of patients respond to treatment with calcium channel blockers, but those who do not respond risk damage to their hearts.
Lung transplantation is the other treatment option.
An earlier study using prostacyclin to treat patients for 12 weeks showed that the treatment was effective and resulted in FDA approval of the drug. The Rush study was designed to learn if prostacyclin therapy could be effective in the long term. The degree of recovery from the effects of the disease depends on how advanced the illness is when therapy begins, according to McLaughlin. Nearly every patient in the study benefited from the drug, she added Treatment costs are usually covered by insurance and Medicare. Luke's Medical Center.