Pulmonary Hypertension refers to a type of high blood pressure that interrupts the arteries in the lungs. The damage of blood vessels affects the blood flow to your lungs, therefore, the blood pressure naturally rises in your lung arteries. Pulmonary Hypertension is one of the complex types of health concerns that is hard to detect sometimes. In several cases, symptoms remain obscure in the early phase of the disease. We hope this blog will help you find out certain health indications. Consult Dr. Abhishek Bali, the leading pulmonologist in Siliguri.
Symptoms Of Pulmonary Hypertension
Yes, sometimes finding out your health condition seems confusing because not every single sign denotes an underlying disease. Here, we are going to cover such symptoms you need to shed some light on. See a pulmonologist if you’ve developed any-
- Shortness of breath during exercise or everyday activities
- Fatigue
- Chest pain or a feeling of pressure in your chest
- Dizziness
- Change in skin/lip colour (cyanosis)
- Abnormal pulse
- Heart palpitation
- Swelling in the legs, ankles and the abdomen
These are the prominent symptoms of Pulmonary Hypertension. At the same time, these signs can be related to other health complications as well.
Causes
The major concerns about Pulmonary Hypertension include-
- Liver Disease, Lung Disease, and Rheumatic Disorder- people with chronic liver cirrhosis, other liver diseases may develop pulmonary hypertension over time. Also, other medical conditions such as (rheumatic disorder) systemic lupus erythematosus, scleroderma, lung conditions – emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, tumors, and pulmonary fibrosis bear higher potentials for Pulmonary Hypertension.
- Issues With Low Oxygen-obesity, sleep apnea also people who live on the hill or at high altitude may have risks for Pulmonary Hypertension.
- Genetics-Pulmonary Hypertension can be hereditary for a few people. So, if anyone in your family suffered from such a condition, here, you need to be a little more attentive to your health.
- Heart conditions-certain health conditions including mitral valve disease, congenital heart disease, aortic valve disease, left heart failure can cause Pulmonary Hypertension.
- Thromboembolic Disease-blood clotting in a vein or artery lead to the development of Pulmonary Hypertension. Blood in cough, chest pain, low blood pressure, and lightheadedness are the main symptoms of thromboembolic disease.
Treatment & Care
- Diagnosis-
- Blood tests
- Chest X-ray
- Echocardiogram
- Electrocardiogram
- Right Heart Catheterization
- CT Scan
- MRI
- Pulmonary Function Test
- Ventilation
- Polysomnogram
- Open Lung Biopsy
- Treatment
- Blood vessel dilators
- Endothelin receptor antagonists
- Guanylate cyclase stimulators
- Sildenafil, tadalafil
- Digoxin
- Oxygen therapy