- About one-tenth of adults with sickle cell disease have pulmonary hypertension (high blood pressure in the lungs). This condition can cause shortness of breath, pain crisis, and congestive heart failure. It may even lead to death. Researchers want to test the drugs imatinib and carvedilol to see if they can treat high blood pressure in the lungs. Both drugs have been used to treat other types of heart problems, but they have not been tested as a treatment for high blood pressure related to sickle cell disease.