Hypertension, specifically pulmonary hypertension, is a syndromethat can affect pediatric patients as well as adults. Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in pediatric patients, while rare, can be a lifethreateningcondition. There is no cure for PAH, only treatment options forchildren that are largely based on the results of adult studies. These therapies, however, can improve quality of life and survival. Treatment can be challenging because of the less approved medications and tolerable dosage forms for pediatric patients. Pediatric pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) shares common features of adult disease, but is associated with several additional disorders and challenges that require unique approaches. Current classes of medications primarily used to treat pediatric hypertension include phosphodiesterase inhibitors, endothelin receptor antagonists, and prostacyclins. Additional agents that may be utilized in selected pediatric patients include calcium channel blockers, anticoagulants, and inhalednitric oxide. Updates are provided on issues related to utility of the previous classification system to reflect pediatric-specific aetiologies and approaches to medical and interventional management of PAH. Also updates are provided about currently available drug substance and their details, pharmaceutical dosage forms and their details along with the mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics of the drug. These emerging data are improving the identification of appropriate targets for goal-oriented therapy inchildren. Such data will likely improve future advanced pharmaceutical dosage development and product design to enhance outcomes in pediatric PAH.
Keywords: Pulmonary arterial hypertension, pediatric hypertension, PAH
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