Sildenafil is commonly used to treat pulmonary hypertension, including pulmonary hypertension that occurs due to altitude exposure, with variable success in treating cases of altitude-induced pulmonary hypertension and HAPE. Sildenafil works via blockade of blocks phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) in pulmonary arterioles, causing an increase in cGMP. When cGMP is activated by nitric oxide (NO) it induces vasodilatation, and indeed, sildenafil administration during altitude exposure does increase arterial oxygenation slightly. However, attempting to block HPV with sildenafil by using a pathway that requires NO can only be realized if there is sufficient NO available to produce cGMP. During hypoxia endogenous levels of NO are depleted due to impaired endothelial NO synthesis. This may explain the inconsistent effects of sildenafil when used to improve oxygenation and performance at altitude.