Category Archives: Pulmonary Hypertension Symptoms

Pulmonary Hypertension Symptoms

What is pulmonary hypertension? In simple terms, it is a high blood pressure in the arteries that begins from the heart down to the lungs. Pulmonary hypertension is also known as arterial hypertension. It is divided into two categories:

  • Primary pulmonary hypertension (not caused by a disease or condition)
  • Secondary pulmonary hypertension (caused by an underlying condition and is much more common than primary pulmonary hypertension)

What are the pulmonary hypertension symptoms? The main symptom of this particular condition is shortness of breath without exertion. It usually starts slowly and gets worse over time.

Other pulmonary hypertension symptoms:

  • Chest pain
  • Fatigue
  • Lethargy
  • Passing out suddenly
  • Swelling of the legs or edema

Now that you know this condition, you are ready to understand what causes it. To begin with, there are various conditions that can cause pulmonary hypertension. In many cases, it can lead to high blood pressure in the pulmonary arteries. Some of its other causes are:

  • Congestive heart failure
  • Venous thromboembolic disease (blood clots in the lungs)
  • Human immunodeficiency virus infection
  • Illegal drug use
  • Cirrhosis of the liver
  • Appetite suppresant medications
  • Autoimmune diseases
  • Heart shunts
  • Chronic lung disease
  • Obstructive sleep apnea

When the cause is unidentified even after doing some tests, the condition is said to be an idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension, which is also known as primary pulmonary hypertension. It is more common among young people with cases more frequent on females than males. The condition is unusually aggressive and in most cases, fatal. Some experts suspect that the arterial obstruction is caused by the build up of the smooth muscle cells that line the arteries.

If any of these symptoms are felt, one has to visit the doctor and undergo some tests. Tests that are performed earlier is more favorable because of the various options that can be discussed with the doctor. Consequently, the condition can be treated properly.

It is also known that people who get pulmonary hypertension and experience pulmonary hypertension symptoms are those who already have a heart condition. This simply means that there is a bigger percentage of people who have heart conditions that are also susceptible to pulmonary hypertension. For those who have a current medical condition, it is always best that everything is discussed with the doctor in order to know what to expect and what to do.

Always be healthy and have a regular checkup. As the saying goes, health is wealth! Invest in health, and you definitely won’t regret it.

Causes of Pulmonary Hypertension

Are you curious to know the causes of pulmonary hypertension? A very rare yet grave medical condition that can happen to anyone. It is always wise that you are familiar with it and other kinds of diseases today.

There are many causes of pulmonary hypertension:

  • Diseases that effect flow out of the heart to the rest of the body that results in backflow of blood .
  • Hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction – this is the process in which the lung vessels narrow in atteempt to divert blood from poorly functioning segments of the lung.
  • Remodeling of blood vessels
  • Parasistic infection in the middle east or schistosomiasis
  • Substances that causes constriction of blood vessels
  • Diseases that raise pulmonary pressures to cause pulmonary artery hypertension for unclear reasons.

There are other more causes for pulmonary hypertension yet in some cases, it is unknown.

The causes of pulmonary hypertension should be kept in mind by people who have a higher risk on acquiring this disease. It is very wise to be aware when it comes to your health so you can prepare or prevent it from happening.

As they say, awareness is key when it comes to health because you can think of ways to prevent it from happening. Aside from this, do routine check-ups with your doctor to keep track of your health and to also make sure that you are living a healthy life.

Pulmonary hypertension is a very rare condition and one should not expect too much from it. As mentioned above, there are other causes of pulmonary hypertension that are still unknown. Researchers are doing the best they can to find out these causes and to let the public know as well. If you happen to have a loved one who has those medical conditions, you might want to tell them about it and have them checked as well if they are a candidate for pulmonary hypertension. This will give you peace of mind and more knowledge on the disease itself.

Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension

What is persistent pulmonary hypertension or PPHN? Also known as persistent fetal circulation, this usually happens to newborns. When a newborn baby’s circulation changes back to the circulation of a fetue, where much of the blood flow bypasses the lungs.

About one in every 500 to 1,5000 babies develops persistent pulmonary hypertension. Usually, it occurs in full-term or post-term babies after a difficult birth or birth asphyxia, a condition that results from too little oxygen.

Causes of persistent pulmonary hypertension

During pregnancy, the fetal lungs are not used to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide so that lungs will need less blood supply. The fetal circulation will send most of the blood supply away from the lungs and through special connections in the heart and the large blood vessels. Once a baby begins to breathe air at birth, this fetal circulation will change dramatically. The change in pressure in the lungs will help close the fetal connections and redirect the blood flow and now, blood is pumped to the lungs to help with the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. When a baby has low oxygen levels or difficulty breathing at birth, these changes may not occur and the baby’s circulation returns back to the fetal system with blood directed away from the lungs. The lung pressure stays high.

Treatments for persistent pulmonary hypertension:

  • Supplemental oxygen
  • Placing an endotracheal tube into the windpipe of the baby
  • Mechanical breathing machin
  • Medications
  • Inhalation of nitric oxide
  • Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation

Persistent pulmonary hypertension is such a grave condition especially seeing a newborn suffering from this. That is why it is said that expecting mothers should avoid stress, take all the necessary vitamins, routine checkups with their gynecologist and eat healthy. The condition is very rare and since it is very rare, research is still on-going regarding this medical condition. Luckily, there are treatments available for this. Treatment of persistent pulmonary hypertension is aimed at increasing the oxygen to the rest of the body systems. Long-term health problems may be related to damage from lowered oxygen in the body.

Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn

Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn or PPHN is the failure of the normal circulatory transition that occurs after birth. A syndrome that is characterized by marked pulmonary hypertension and this causes hypoxemia and right-to-left extrapulmonary blood shunting.

What is shunting of blood?

There is the patent foramen ovale and patent ductus arteriosus that are present early in life, elevated pulmonary vascular resistnace in the newborn can produce shunting of blood which will lead to a severe and potential unresponsive hypoxemia. If there is inadequate pulmonary perfusion, neonates are at risk for developing refractory hypoxemia, respiratory distress and acidosis.

There are different types of persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn:

  1. PPHN characterized by abnormally constricted pulmonary vasculature due to lung parenchymal diseases.
  2. PPHN characterized by hypoplastic vasculature.
  3. PPHN in which the lung has normal parenchyma and remodeled pulmonary vasculature.

Causes of persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn

The cause of persistent pilmonary hypertensiion is usually unknown. Some researchers believe that stress while the baby is in the uterus that is associated with pregnancy complications may increase the risk of developing PPHN.

Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn may also occur with certain diseases or congenital conditions of the newborn that affects the lungs.

Signs and symptoms of persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn:

  • rapid breathing or tachypnea
  • rapid heart rate
  • respiratory distress
  • cyanosis
  • heart murmur

How is persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn diagnosed?

Several tests will be performed:

  • Chest X-rays – it can show if the baby has lung disease and whether the heart is enlarged
  • Echocardiogram – this can show whether the haby has heart or ling disease and can determine the direction of the blood flow in those organs.
  • An ultrasound of the head
  • Arterial blood gas – this can determine the amount of oxygen, carbon dioxide and acid buildup are in the arterial blood.
  • CBC – this measures the number of oxygen-carrying red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.
  • Serum electrolyte tests – this can evaluate the balance of minerals in the blood.
  • Lumbar puncture
  • Pulse oximetry

How is persistent persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn treated?
Usually, babies with PPHN are cared for in a neonatal intensive care unit. The doctor will maximize the amount of oxygen delivered to the lungs of the baby so 100% oxygen will be given through a tube inserted directly into the baby’s trachea.

Another way is through the use of high-frequency oscillatory ventilation if the baby has PPHN that is caused by a lung problem. This is a ventilation technique that can improve the oxygen deleivery to the lungs and it can also reduce acid buildup in the blood and it often helps open up the blood vessels leading to the lungs and thus allowing more blood to flow to the lungs.

Nitric oxide is also said to be effective to babies with persistentg pulmonary hypertension.

Lastly, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is an intensive procedure and this will require major surgery.

Pulmonary Artery Hypertension

Pulmonary artery hypertension is a disease of the vessels that carry blood from the heart to the lungs. This hypertension simply means that there is a constant state of high blood pressure in the lung vessels. This is not common but it affects people of all ages and ethnic backgrounds. Also, it can also occur on its own or it can be related to other causes.

We all know that hypertension occurs when most of the very small arteries throughout the lungs narrow in diameter and this increases the resistance to blood flow through the lungs. In order to overcome this, pressure increases in the pulmonary artery and in the heart chamber that pumps blood into the pulmonary artery or the right ventricle.

Pulmonary artery hypertension is a very difficult disease to acquire and it’s also a cause of alarm because there is really no cure for this. Since the disease is very rare, not everyone is familiar with it until they are diagnosed. The symptoms of this includes, shortness of breath and fainting spells. These are very common symptoms and sometimes, people mistake it as a different disease.

It is also noted that pulmonary artery hypertension can also be acquired through genetics. Mutations in the BMPR2 gene cause pulmonary arterial hypertension. This particular gene plays a role when it comes to the regulation of cells in certain tissues. A lot of researchers have suggested that a mutation in this gene can promote cell division or prevent cells death which will then result in an overgrowth of cells in small arteries throughout the lungs.

The increase in hospitalizations with pulmonary artery hypertension increases the death rates for women, African-Americans and the elderly with pulmonary hypertension during the past two decades and this has reflected an increase in physician awareness of the disease rather than a growing epidemic of pulmonary hypertension.

Pulmonary Hypertension Prognosis

Pulmonary hypertension prognosis refers to the outcome of pulmonary hypertension, risk of complications, duration, probable outcome, recovery prospects, how long the recovery period can be, survival rates, death rates and other related outcomes.

As you know, primary pulmonary hypertension is a rare condition that causes just as primary hypertension are unknown. Secondary pulmonary hypertension has known causes such as cardian and extrathoraic conditions. Since the condition is very rare, it affects less than one percent of people in the United States. The disorder has 300 cases every year in America. There are some experts that indicate that the true incident of the condition remains unknown.

Pulmonary hypertension prognosis studies almost led doctors to conclude that the disorder was only for young women. This is because the greater number of incidence was in women between 21 to 40 years old. However, it is now known that it affects men and women of all ages from very young children to the elderly inclusive of racial and different ethnic background factors.

Pulmonary hypertension prognosis course of the disorder is believed that it begins with injury occurring to the andothelial cells a layer of cells lining small blood vessels found in the lungs. The reason of this injury occurs in the first place is unknown. The changes were then introduced by the influences of the injury the interaction between endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells in the vessel walls. This has the overall effect of narrowing the vessels. Many doctors believe that this interactions leads to the development of additional amounts of tissue in the walls of the pulmonary arteries.

According to pulmonary hypertension prognosis, the median duration of survival after diagnosis is just under 3 years. However, this figure varies quite significantly. Since treatments are more advanced today, patients which do not have right ventricle dysfunction can even survive for up to 10 years with effective pulmonary hypertension treatment.

Symptoms of Pulmonary Hypertension

Are you interested to know the symptoms of pulmonary hypertension? Consider yourself lucky because you are on the right page. First of all, pulmonary hypertension is high blood pressure that occurs in the lung arteries.

Now, what are the symptoms of pulmonary hypertension?

  • Fatigue
  • Shortness of breath
  • Dizziness
  • Edema

When it comes to symptoms of pulmonary hypertension and diagnosis, it can be tricky. Most people think that they are just out of shape because general fatigue and tiredness are often the first symptoms. It will even more noticeable when you experience difficulty breathing, dizziness or even fainting spells that some patients report. As the condition progresses, you will begin to notice swelling in the ankles or legs, bluish discoloration of the lips and skin, and chest pains. These symptoms will indicate that your body is not circulating enough oxygen-filled blood from your lungs which is a health problem that needs treatment.

Pulmonary hypertension is rare, it can very complex when it comes to treating and diagnosing. This is because symptoms of pulmonary hypertension will increase gradually and patients may not notice or recognize them. Furthermore, most people do not seek medical help if they mistakenly believe they are simply out of shape.

Also, when it comes to symptoms of pulmonary hypertension, there are other patients that will experience a lot of symptoms while there are others that may only have a few clues to the problem. That is why the medical evaluation requires and in-depth understanding of lung and circulation problems because these same symptoms can also signal other types of health problem. For these reasons, patients who experience symptoms of pulmonary hypertension should be evaluated at a hospital with expertise and experience in this particular medical condition.

As you can see, symptoms of pulmonary hypertension are very common and it can also represent other medical condition. However, the best way to assure this is that you go through your check ups and do some routine tests to make sure that you are healthy and fit. Prevention is cure and in order to prevent this disease, one must live a healthy life.

Pulmonary Hypertension Life Expectancy

Pulmonary hypertension affects the arteries in the lungs which causes actual blood stress in individuals vessels to increase. Heart conditions can also result in this because of cigarette smoking. However, this is a very rare condition which makes people quite afraid to acquire this condition and wants to know pulmonary hypertension life expectancy.

It can be a life-threatening situation if identified in past due stages or even left without treatment. That is why it is very important to discuss pulmonary hypertension treatments with your doctor. The main pulmonary hypertension life expectancy might be approximately three years after analysis if this goes without treatment or sooner if it’s severe or there’s evidence associated with right-sided center failure.

People who have pulmonary hypertension thinks that they are just growing older or attaining weight. If you can’t walk without preventing to capture your breathing or in the event that routine exercises enables you to feel like you’ve finished a marathon, it might be more than being out of shape.

For patients who don’t have treatment for pulmonary hypertension, the pulmonary hypertension life expectancy has a probable survival associated with 68% at twelve months, 48% at 3 years and 34% from five years. When it comes to those who seek pulmonary hypertension treatment, it changes the outlook because it depends on how the patient responds to treatment, so there is really do definite digits to describe pulmonary hypertension life expectancy for those who are undergoing treatments.

Pulmonary hypertension life expectancy is a scary thought. So, if you have this, it is best that you follow your doctor’s orders and seek the best treatment for your condition. For those who don’t have this, we all know that prevention is cure and in order to prevent acquiring this disease, it is very important that you maintain a healthy lifestyle. Exercise regularly, eat a balanced diet and drink lots of water. Don’t forget to take your vitamins as well. Following these things will help you become healthier and will prevent you from acquiring any diseases like pulmonary hypertension.

Pulmonary Hypertension Treatment

Do you have pulmonary hypertension? If you have, you might be seeking for the most effective pulmonary hypertension treatment. First of all, this is very rare but unfortunately, it doesn’t have a cure.

If you are diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension, there are various pulmonary hypertension treatments that are available. These are effective to help reduce the pulmonary hypertension symptoms, increase daily activity, decrease pulmonary pressure and provide you an opportunity to expand your lifespan. Asking your doctor for the best pulmonary hypertension treatment is very much recommended.

There are two forms of pulmonary hypertension, one of them in caused by other conditions or diseases like blood clots to the lungs and this is called Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. The sad this is that this particular condition is most of the time unnoticed or even misdiagnosed. The two diseases are quite different and so are the treatments. With successful pulmonary hypertension treatment, it may stop the progress of pulmonary hypertension.

It is also known that pulmonary hypertension is treated with various medications. Prostacyclin Analogues enables the vessels in the lungs to expand and more so, it allows the blood to freely move without resistance. The Endothelin Receptor Antagonists reverses the effects of endothelin that can cause vessel constriction.

Another pulmonary hypertension treatment in the form of medication are the Anticoagulants. This is used to guide the prevention of blood clotting. Diurectis and Oxygen are also used to treat pulmonary arterial hypertenion. Always keep in mind that most of these medications have major side effects that can be dangerous if dosages are not monitored.

Another pulmonary hypertension treatment is surgery. Pulmonary thromboendarterectomy is the procedure that is very effective for treating pulmonary hypertension. That is why it is very important that it is accurately diagnosed in a timely manner.

Pulmonary hypertension treatment is very important because as mentioned above, it doesn’t have a cure. The rare disease is so comples and requires a lot of attention. If this goes untreated or mismanaged, it will lead to right ventricular failure.

Pulmonary hypertension has no racial connection and prevalent in people 20-40 years of age. So, always have your check ups and live a healthy lifestyle.  Once you experience pulmonary hypertension symptoms, it is very important that you have yourself checked.

Primary Pulmonary Hypertension

Primary pulmonary hypertension is a very rare disease that is characterized by elevated pulmonary artery pressure with no cause. It is also known as precapillary arterial hypertension or idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension. Today, the preferred term is IPAH and it represents pulmonary vascular disease with a spectrum of clinical presentations.

How does primary pulmonary hypertension occur?

This disease occurs when blood pressure in the pulmonary artery or the major blood vessel connecting the right heart ventricle and the lungs is higher than normal. It is known that our lungs are responsible for supplying the blood with oxygen and ridding the blood of carbon dioxide.

It is also a known fact that primary pulmonary hypertension occurs with nor apparent reason which is why it is called idiopathis pulmonary hypertension or unexplained pulmonary hypertension.

Since this is a very rare lung disorder because there is an estimate of 500-1,000 new cases being diagnosed each year in the US. The greatest number of primary pulmonary hypertension cases are reposted in women from ages 20-40, but men, women and children of all ages can develop this disease.

What are the pulmonary hypertension symptoms?

  • Shortness of breath
  • fatigue
  • Edema

Also, a number of unknown causes or disease may lead to this serious malfunctioning. It encompasses a number of causative factors all of which are unknown.

What is strange is there are complications associated with primary pulmonary hypertension are understood but the exact cause of this disease is not discovered yet. There are a lot studies that carried out in this regard have, however, indicated that certain appetite suppressants can increase chances of developing this fatal condition. It has also been in theory that this can be inherited as a mutation of the BMPR2 gene. Cirrhosis of the liver, stimulant abuse and HIV infection are also considered close associates of primary pulmonary hypertension.

If you are experiencing pulmonary hypertension symptoms, it is very important that you head to your the hospital and have yourself checked. This is very important and you should not let it go without going through some tests. Also, having yourself checked gives you the chance to discuss options with your doctor and for the pulmonary hypertension not to worsen.