Hydralazine and the Treatment of Primary Pulmonary Hypertension

Abstract
This issue of the Journal contains a report by Packer et al. showing that hydralazine, a widely used systemic arterial vasodilator, did not produce consistent hemodynamic or clinical improvement in patients with primary or secondary pulmonary hypertension.1 This report is not in agreement with the results of a recent study by Rubin and Peter showing that hydralazine was effective in reducing pulmonary vascular resistance and relieving symptoms in four patients with primary pulmonary hypertension.2 The disparate observations on the response to hydralazine in the studies of Packer et al. and of Rubin and Peter deserve further examination and comment. The . . .