Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor use and outcomes in pulmonary arterial hypertension☆
Introduction
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is characterized by elevated pulmonary vascular resistance and right ventricular failure. Many studies support a role for serotonin in the pathophysiology of PAH. Patients with PAH have increased free plasma serotonin levels, which persist beyond explantation of the diseased lungs [1]. Overexpression of the gene for the serotonin transporter (SERT), which brings serotonin into cells, results in increased pulmonary artery pressure [2]. Hypoxia- and monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension in animal models is inhibited by fluoxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) that blocks the SERT [3], [4]. Studies have also suggested a protective effect of SSRI use in coronary artery disease [5], [6], [7]. Although these findings provide a rationale for randomized controlled trials of SSRIs in PAH, there are no published clinical data regarding SSRI use in PAH patients, making a clinical trial premature. We hypothesized that PAH patients treated with high-affinity SSRIs would have a reduced risk of death compared to PAH patients not treated with SSRIs.
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Study subjects
The subjects were patients who underwent initial evaluation between January 1994 and June 2002 at the Pulmonary Hypertension Center of the New York Presbyterian Hospital. We included adult (>16-year old) patients with PAH which was idiopathic, familial, or associated with anorexigen use. Patients who were diagnosed with PAH related to connective tissue diseases, portal hypertension, HIV infection, or congenital heart disease were excluded. We also excluded patients who underwent initial
Results
The cohort included 84 patients. The mean age was 42 (14) years. Sixty-one (81%) patients were female. Eighty patients underwent right heart catheterization, and 74 had acute pulmonary vasodilator testing performed during right heart catheterization. Seventy-nine (94%) patients were treated with warfarin; 72 (86%) received digoxin; 38 (45%) received continuous intravenous epoprostenol; 12 (14%) received continuous subcutaneous treprostinil; and 23 (27%) were treated with oral bosentan. The
Discussion
This is the first clinical study of SSRI use and outcomes in patients with PAH. We have shown that 15% of a consecutive cohort of patients with idiopathic PAH were treated with high-affinity SSRIs. Our data raise the possibility of a protective effect of high-affinity SSRI exposure in PAH patients. This is consistent with a growing body of evidence that supports the role of serotonin and the SERT in the vascular changes characteristic of PAH.
Serotonin is one of the most potent pulmonary
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank Stephen E. Kimmel, M.D., M.S.C.E. for his insightful comments after review of this manuscript.
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Supported in part by NIH HL67771 and the Florence and Herbert Irving Clinical Research Career Award.