Efficacy of sildenafil in the treatment of elderly patients with chronic heart failure with pulmonary hypertension

AIM To observe the efficacy of sildenafil in the treatment of elderly patients with chronic heart failure with pulmonary hypertension. METHODS 86 elderly patients in our hospital with chronic heart failure with pulmonary hypertension were randomly divided into two groups. The control group was treated with conventional therapy and the treatment group was treated with sildenafil. Left ventricular function, pulmonary arterial systolic pressure (PASP), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-pro-BNP) were compared between the two groups. RESULTS Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (42±1)%, Left ventricular fractional shortening (LVFS) (26±7)%, and 6--minute walk test (6-MWT) (423±52) m in the treatment group, were significantly higher than the control group (39±8)%, (23±6)%, (361±32) m (P<0.05); The levels of PASP (36±9) mmHg, hs-CRP (9±4) mg/L and NT-pro-BNP (535±49) ng/L in the observation group were significantly lower than the control group (40±8) mmHg, (13±4) mg/L, (796±97) ng/L (P<0.05). CONCLUSION There are significant effects of sildenafil in the treatment of elderly patients with chronic heart failure with pulmonary hypertension and these effects are superior to conventional treatment.