Diazoxide in Primary Pulmonary Hypertension

Abstract

PRIMARY pulmonary hypertension is a disease of unknown cause, predominantly occurring in young women and resulting in right ventricular failure and death in an average of seven years.¹ Spontaneous regression has been reported but is rare.² As yet, no specific treatment has been found to be effective for long-term palliation of symptoms or prevention of sudden death. We recently treated a 19-year-old girl with primary pulmonary hypertension. Injection of diazoxide into the pulmonary artery at the time of cardiac catheterization dramatically decreased pulmonary-artery pressure and resistance and markedly increased cardiac output. The patient was subsequently placed on oral diazoxide, with . . .