Should Patients with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Receive Routine Anticoagulation?

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a complex, progressive vascular disorder marked by elevated pulmonary artery pressure and vascular remodeling. Histopathologic studies have suggested in situ thrombus formation in pulmonary arteries, and small, often retrospective analyses that linked anticoagulation use with greater survival in PAH led to widespread adoption of anticoagulation in many patients, particularly those with idiopathic or heritable PAH. Considering the limitations in the existing evidence, investigators conducted a propensity score–based analysis using data from patients with at least 3 years of follow-up in the French Pulmonary Hypertension Registry and complemented the results with a meta-analysis including 5 othe…