Spontaneously remitted pulmonary arterial hypertension associated with the herbal medicine "bofutsushosan"

Intern Med. 2013;52(13):1499-502. doi: 10.2169/internalmedicine.52.0045. Epub 2013 Jul 1.

Abstract

Although the link between pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and exposure to certain drugs has already been identified, we herein present the first case of herbal medicine-associated PAH in which the patient demonstrated spontaneous remission. A 38-year-old woman took the herbal medicine "bofutsushosan" for two weeks then stopped taking it due to exertional dyspnea. However, her dyspnea continued, and right heart catheterization revealed a mean pulmonary arterial pressure of 41 mmHg with a normal wedge pressure. Several months after treatment with oxygen therapy, the patient's dyspnea disappeared, and her pulmonary arterial pressure normalized. Further studies focusing on susceptibility factors to drug-induced pulmonary arterial hypertension are needed.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Drugs, Chinese Herbal / adverse effects*
  • Familial Primary Pulmonary Hypertension
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Hypertension, Pulmonary / chemically induced*
  • Hypertension, Pulmonary / diagnosis*
  • Remission, Spontaneous*

Substances

  • Drugs, Chinese Herbal
  • bofu-tsusho-san