Animal models of pulmonary hypertension: role in translational research

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a severe progressive disorder with an unclear etiology and a poor prognosis. Current treatments can alleviate the symptoms and even revert the characteristic vascular remodeling process, but cannot cure the disease. A variety of animal models have been suggested to mimic PH and successful translation of new therapeutic approaches from bench to bedside demonstrates the value of such models. Our review highlights the role of different animal models of PH in translational research.