Relaxin levels in pulmonary hypertension: A comparison between pulmonary arterial hypertension and diastolic heart failure-induced pulmonary hypertension

摘要

Relaxin, a naturally occurring peptide involved in parturition, has vasodilatory, diuretic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-fibrotic properties.1 As such, the role of relaxin as a compensatory mediator in heart failure has been evaluated and recently investigated as a treatment of acute heart failure.2 Relaxin has also been studied in a rat model of pulmonary hypertension (PH), a condition characterized by an imbalance of neurohor-monal and inflammatory mediators, revealing a significant benefit of relaxin administration on hemodynamics, collagen accumulation, and inflammatory mediator expression.3 Given the above properties, we evaluated relaxin levels in patients with pulmonary arterial (PA) hypertension (PAH) and diastolic heart failure-induced PH (DHF-PH), an emerging cause of PH associated with increased mortality in DHF.4 We compared these with levels in patients with DHF alone and in healthy controls in an attempt to assess the role of relaxin in the development and progression of these conditions.