[Tadalafil: novel aspects of phosphodiesterase-5 inhibition in the treatment of pulmonary hypertension].

Tadalafil, which was commercialized in 2009, is a potent and selective phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitor, and may be a safe and effective therapeutic alternative for patients with class II and III pulmonary hypertension (PH) in the World Health Organization's classification--as stated in the Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of PH of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the European Respiratory Society (ERS)--providing benefits in exercise tolerance, delaying clinical deterioration and improving quality of life. Given the greater half-life of this drug, allowing a single oral dose of 40 mg per day, tadalafil could improve therapeutic compliance--thus facilitating treatment adherence--among patients with PH.
(Copyright © 2011 Sociedad Española de Neumología y Cirugía Torácica. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.)