BETHESDA, MD. — More than half of patients in the Registry to Evaluate Early and Long-Term Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Disease Management (REVEAL) are on two or more medications to treat their disease, said Dr. Michael McGoon, who is chairman of the registry's steering committee.
“One of the revealing outcomes early on … is that already 54% of the 460 patients on any pulmonary arterial hypertension medication are on two or more medications,” said Dr. McGoon, at a meeting on pulmonary hypertension sponsored by the National Institutes of Health.
The REVEAL registry is designed to look at the clinical course and medical management of pulmonary arterial hypertension. Researchers hope to enroll 3,000 patients with PAH, who will be followed for at least 5 years, regardless of their therapy. The registry is intended to capture demographic data and clinical treatment patterns and factors associated with improved clinical outcomes.
As of October 2006, 545 patients had been enrolled. Of these, slightly less than half (46%) had idiopathic PAH. Roughly half (51%) had PAH associated with other diseases. Of those enrolled, 71% also had cardiovascular disease, said Dr. McGoon, who is also director of the pulmonary hypertension clinic at the Mayo Medical School, Rochester, Minn.
The registry is sponsored by CoTherix Inc., which makes Ventavis (iloprost) for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension. Dr. McGoon disclosed that he has financial ties to several pharmaceutical companies, including CoTherix.