Heart Failure Med Good for Pulmonary Edema

Canadian scientists say acetazolamide, a drug used to manage fluid retention in heart failure, can also control effects of high altitude exposure.

Marc Poulin and colleagues at the University of Calgary found the drug controls the effects of pulmonary edema — an accumulation of fluid in lung tissue that occurs from high altitude exposure — as well as improving brain oxygenation.

The randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study showed acetazolamide had complex positive effects on ventilation, pulmonary vascular resistance and cerebral blood flow in optimizing brain oxygenation during simulated high-altitude tests on nine subjects. The researchers conclude the drug could be a valuable means of preventing or treating high-altitude pulmonary edema.

The study’s results appear in February issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, published by the American Thoracic Society.