A survey of 200 people in the United States living with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) found that 85% had never discussed palliative care with their healthcare provider, even though nearly nine in 10 said they would feel comfortable doing so. Many participants mistakenly thought palliative care was only for end-of-life care, highlighting the need for better conversations so people understand how it can help manage symptoms and improve quality of life throughout their i

This study found that endoplasmic reticulum stress in lung blood vessels may contribute to pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) by triggering pyroptosis and damaging blood vessels. In rats, blocking this process reduced blood vessel damage and slowed the development of PAH. Read the Journal of the American Heart Association article

Patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension who took ralinepag in addition to their usual treatment were less likely to have their disease get worse than those who took a placebo. However, more people stopped taking ralinepag because of side effects. Read the Lancet article

Functional disability, but not chronic disease category or chronic pain, was independently associated with lower social support. Social isolation among Canadian adults is more closely associated with functional limitations than with diagnostic labels, underscoring the importance of function-focused approaches in research and intervention. Read the Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Journal article

Researchers looked at smartphone data from 109 participants in the UK. Software was trained to distinguish idiopathic pulmonary hypertension (IPAH) and did so correctly at least 75% of the time. This suggests metrics from wearable tech can complement traditional risk assessment and may support earlier PAH detection. Read the NPJ Cardiovascular Health article

This press release reports that over the 12 months of their Expanded Access Program enrolling ten patients, the majority of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension who completed treatment with drug candidate CS1 maintained or improved their functional and biomarker status, and that CS1 showed a favourable safety and tolerability profile. A Phase IIb trial for CS1 begins this summer. Read the Cereno Scientific press release

Clinical trials for sotatercept didn't include children, so any pediatric use is off-label. This study, conducted at one children's hospital in San Diego, evaluated sotatercept in 7 pediatric patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension who were already on triple therapy. A majority of patients had favourable hemodynamics trends, supporting the need for official pediatric studies. Read the Pediatric Cardiology article

A 9-participant phase 1 clinical trial used a patch to deliver a prodrug of treprostinil (a prodrug is something that is metabolized into the drug in question inside the body). Each participant wore a patch for 24 hours. The researchers found that treprostinil levels were steady, that different patch sizes could probably be used to deliver different doses, and that it was generally safe and well-tolerated. The company plans to continue clinical development. Read the press rel

In a study of a relatively low-risk population of pulmonary hypertension patients, researchers began to untangle sotatercept's complex effects on exercise. Sotatercept lowered blood volume to normal levels and increased hemoglobin, allowing greater oxygen delivery during exercise. As well, muscles seemed to be able to extract more oxygen. At rest, people's bodies maintained oxygen delivery levels as the blood volume decreased, and the heart seemed to work less hard. Cardiac o

Researchers looked at the medical records of 455 people with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) to find factors associated with getting worse. Using a machine-learning computer model, they found 11 clinical features linked to a higher chance of a worsening event, but only body mass index and red cell distribution width were statistically significantly associated with clinical worsening. About half of the patients experienced a worsening event during the study, usually with

This study from one clinic examined how well sotatercept worked in real-world patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) who also had other heart or lung conditions, such as coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, lung scarring, or COPD. After six months of treatment, patients generally needed less oxygen, walked farther in six-minute walk tests, and showed improvements in their overall risk scores. Most side effects, such as nosebleeds or increased red blood c

This study looked at a French support program designed to help people with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) start and adjust their dose of selexipag. Nurses called patients three days after patients started treatment or changed doses to monitor side effects and provide guidance. Most patients were able to reach their best individual dose within about 11 weeks, and most side effects were mild or manageable. Both patients and healthcare providers reported very high satisfa

Researchers used AI to indirectly compare data from three randomized controlled trials looking at sotatercept or selexipag in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Their findings suggest that sotatercept may reduce PAH-related events more effectively than selexipag, although the inference is based on reconstructed, indirectly compared data. Read the Cureus article

This study looked at how to better detect pulmonary hypertension (PH) in people with interstitial lung disease (ILD), since PH often makes breathing problems, quality of life, and survival worse. Researchers found that combining several common tests—such as lung function tests, heart ultrasounds, and CT scans—was more helpful for identifying PH early than relying solely on a doctor’s overall impression. Certain signs, including low oxygen levels, enlarged pulmonary arteries,

This study looked at which proteins and metabolic biomarkers might be associated with the development of high-altitude pulmonary hypertension (PH). Looking at data from China, from rat tissues, and from the UK biobank, the researchers identified four proteins and 11 metabolites and built what they describe as a "robust predictive model" to predict and prevent high-altitude pulmonary hypertension. Read the Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease article

Researchers looked at whether cigarette smoking affected the diagnosis and disease progression of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). They found that smoking tended to delay the diagnosis of PAH but not CTEPH. They also found that male smokers with PAH fared worse than female smokers. Read the Pulmonology article

This study tried to identify new environmental triggers or genetic causes in heritable pulmonary arterial hypertension. They found several potential genes for further exploration, but they also found consistent toxin exposure on one of the families they were investigating. They conclude that environmental triggers should also be investigated in heritable PAH. Read the Scientific Reports article

This study identified factors associated with a delayed diagnosis of PAH and found that earlier diagnosis (<6 months) and treatment initiation were associated with significantly improved survival. More early diagnosis patients saw a pulmonologist before another provider. Read the Pulmonary Circulation article

A review of 12 studies evaluating selexipag in pediatric patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension found that it improved functional capacity and mPAP, especially when added to existing therapies. About 60% of pediatric patients had side effects, mostly mild. Read the Pediatric Cardiology article

Patients with portopulmonary hypertension were not included in clinical trials for sotatercept. This case report found that sotatercept helped one patient with portopulmonary hypertension, who was then able to get a liver transplant. However, they did note some risks. Read the Communications Medicine article