A review of ongoing trials in exercise based rehabilitation for pulmonary arterial hypertension

Exercise based rehabilitation for patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a new treatment option for these patients to improve their functional capacity and quality of life. Despite the benefits seen in cardiopulmonary rehabilitation in various other conditions, it has been underutilized for the patients with PAH. A review of currently registered ongoing trials on exercise training for patients with PAH from the World Health Organization International Clinical Trial Registry Platform was done using the key words “rehabilitation”, “exercise training”, “pulmonary artery hypertension” and “pulmonary hypertension” for a period of 10 years (2002-2012). The search revealed 57 registered trials in various trial registries from which seven met the inclusion criteria. The current studies are being carried out in Germany (n=4), Brazil (n=1), Australia (n=1) and India (n=1). This indicates a shift in focus from the only medical management to the rehabilitation and long term care for patients with PAH.