Top 5 Most-Read PAH Content of 2023

The top 5 most-read pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) pieces on AJMC.com this year included insights into health care professionals’ opinions on right heart (RH) imaging, the approval of new treatments, treatment outcomes in subpopulations, as well as the influence of alcohol consumption on blood pressure.

These are the top 5 most-read PAH articles of 2023.

5. GERD Treatment May Yield More Favorable PH Outcomes for Patients With Codiagnoses

Current treatments for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) involve medications such as proton pump inhibitors that can reduce the acidity of aspirations in these patients. After observing that patients with pulmonary hypertension also indicated with GERD experience better outcomes, researchers hypothesized that these treatments could have a protective effect for patients enduring lung disease.

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4. More Evidence Needed to Clarify the Role of Right Heart Imaging in PAH

A total of 17 experts from the field of pulmonology and cardiology completed 3 assessments on how right heart imaging (RH) influences treatment decisions in PAH. As many agreed on the long-term benefits RH imaging can provide for disease monitoring, survey results expressed a wide degree of variability in RH imaging implementation, stressing the need for improved risk-assessment algorithms and parameters in this area.

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3. ICER to Review Sotatercept for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

In the late spring of 2023, the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review said it would assess the comparative clinical effectiveness and value of sotatercept as a therapy for PAH. Sotatercept counteracts the underlying mechanism of PAH that consequently constricts pulmonary vessels, making it the first treatment to directly act on the cause of disease. Upon acceptance by the FDA, sotatercept could be available in the US market in 2024.

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2. Data for Therapies to Treat Cholesterol, PAH Highlight ACC Scientific Sessions

This year’s American College of Cardiology (ACC) Scientific Session accepted over 4000 abstracts across 84 countries and took place in New Orleans, Louisiana. Among the highlighted presentations ahead of the event were those covering value-based care, the development of new treatments for PAH and cholesterol, special topics in cardiology, and more.

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Check out all the coverage from ACC 2023.

1. Elevated Systolic Blood Pressure Linked to Alcohol Consumption

Meta-analyses on the relationship between alcohol consumption and blood pressure increases are lacking, especially regarding more minimal alcohol consumption. To investigate and elucidate this relationship further, investigators conducted systemic search of studies reporting on these associations. Researchers’ findings suggest that elevated systolic blood pressure and alcohol consumption have a direct and linear relationship and, alarming, no threshold seems to exist here.

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