My answer to How close are we to finding a cure for pulmonary hypertension?

Answer by Connie b. Dellobuono:

We are not closed to finding cure with many causes including smoking (prevalent in women, over 85 yrs of age, blacks) and others listed below as identified during the 4th world symposium on pulmonary hypertension which took place in Dana Point, California in 2008.

Box 1: Updated Clinical Classification of Pulmonary Hypertension, Dana Point 2008

1. Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)

• 1.1. Idiopathic PAH (IPAH)
• 1.2. Heritable PAH
• 1.2.1. BMPR2
• 1.2.2. ALK1, endoglin (with or without hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia)
• 1.2.3. Unknown
• 1.3. Drug and toxin-induced
• 1.4. Associated with (APAH)
• 1.4.1. Connective tissue disease
• 1.4.2. HIV infection
• 1.4.3. Portal hypertension
• 1.4.4. Congenital heart diseases
• 1.4.5. Schistosomiasis
• 1.4..6. Chronic hemolytic anemia
• 1.5. Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN)

1' Pulmonary veno-occlusive disease (PVOD) and/or pulmonary capillary hemangiomatosis (PCH)

2. Pulmonary hypertension owing to left heart diseases

• 2.1. Systolic dysfunction
• 2.2. Diastolic dysfunction
• 2.3. Valvular disease

3. Pulmonary hypertension owing to lung diseases and/or hypoxia

• 3.1. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• 3.2. Interstitial lung disease
• 3.3. Other pulmonary diseases with mixed restrictive and obstructive pattern
• 3.4. Sleep-disordered breathing
• 3.5. Alveolar hypoventilation disorders
• 3.6. Chronic exposure to high altitude
• 3.7. Developmental abnormalities

4. Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH)

5. Miscellaneous

• 5.1. Hematologic disorders: myeloproliferative disorders, splenectomy
• 5.2. Systemic disorders: sarcoidosis, pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis, lymphangioleimyomatosis, neurofibromatosis, vasculitis
• 5.3. Metabolic disorders: glycogen storage disease, Gaucher disease, thyroid disorders
• 5.4. Others: tumoral obstruction, fibrosing mediastinitis, chronic renal failure on dialysis

Pulmonary hypertension is higher among women over 85 yrs old

How close are we to finding a cure for pulmonary hypertension?