Echocardiographic assessment of right ventricular structure and function in hypoxic induced pulmonary hypertension – effects of Riociguat and Sildenafil

Rationale: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a disease characterized by progressive increase in pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) leading to right ventricular hypertrophy (RVH), failure and finally death. While pulmonary vascular disease is the obvious primary pathologic focus, RVH and RV dysfunction are major determinants of prognosis in PAH. The nitric oxide (NO)-soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC)-cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) signal-transduction pathway is impaired in many cardiovascular diseases, including PAH. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of sGC stimulation by riociguat…