Towards improved pharmacotherapy in pulmonary arterial hypertension. Can diet play a role?

Abstract

Background: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare, progressive disease of the pulmonary vasculature. Recent advances in pharmacotherapy improved life expectancy of PAH patients and, thus, signified the role of general measures, including diet, in the management of the disease.

Methods: In the present narrative review we will briefly summarize information about current and novel PAH therapies and analyze preclinical evidence on the influence of certain nutrients on the pathogenesis of PAH.

Results: Although the evidence on the role of dietary deficiencies in the development and progression of PAH in humans is limited, preclinical studies demonstrate that dietary components such as quercetin, genistein, n-3 PUFAs, vitamin D, coenzyme Q10 and resveratrol may influence various aspects of PAH pathobiology.

Conclusions: Further research on the role of diet in PAH is needed. Taking into account pleiotropic and subtle effects of dietary constituents as well as the rare and severe nature of PAH, clinical studies on the disease-specific nutritional patterns rather than on single dietary components may help to reveal if diet can be an important tool to improve the efficacy of pharmacotherapy in PAH.

Keywords: Coenzyme Q; Nrf2; Nutrition; PUFAs; Polyphenols; Pulmonary arterial hypertension.