Hypertension is a disease that can affect your life at a certain stage if you are not very health conscious especially about your heart or have heart disease. But, pulmonary hypertension is a condition, when high blood pressure affects the right side of the heart and the arteries in the lungs.
Initially, there's no cure for some typical types of pulmonary hypertension, until you visit and consult with your pulmonologist in Siliguri for the best treatment that can help to reduce symptoms and improve quality of life.
Common Symptoms Of Pulmonary Hypertension
- Fatigue
- Dizziness
- Chest pain
- Breathing problems
- Chest pressure
- Ascites
- Cyanosis
- Palpitations
- Swelling in the legs
- Swelling in the ankles
The symptoms of pulmonary hypertension develop slowly over the years and form a worse disease. This is also known for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in which the blood vessels in the lungs are blocked, narrowed, or destroyed.
Common Causes Of Pulmonary Hypertension
Depending on the cause, pulmonary hypertension is classified into five groups such as:
Group 1 – Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)
- Unknown cause
- Use of illegal drugs
- Congenital heart disease
- HIV infection
- Sickle cell disease
- Chronic liver disease
- Connective tissue disorders
Group 2 – PH
These group types are caused by left-sided heart disease such as:
- Aortic valve disease
- Mitral valve disease
- Failure of the left ventricle
Group 3 – PH
These are caused by lung diseases such as:
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Pulmonary fibrosis
- Obstructive sleep apnea
- Long-term risk of pulmonary hypertension
Group 4 – PH
Pulmonary hypertension can also cause by chronic blood clots that include:
- Pulmonary emboli
- Other clotting disorders
Group 5 – PH
Some pulmonary hypertension can be triggered by other health conditions like:
- Blood disorders
- Tumors
- Inflammatory disorders
- Kidney disease
- Metabolic disorders
When the blood flows through the lungs arteries getting slow, the blood pressure rises and the heart eventually becomes weak and failed due to extra harder to pump blood flow through the lungs. As a result this slowly gets worse and becomes life-threatening for you.
Risk Factors Associated With Pulmonary Hypertension
It is more common in younger adults, but as you grow old, the risk of developing pulmonary hypertension is also growing at a fast pace. Apart from that, these can also raise the risk of PAH to include:
- Genetic history
- Being overweight
- Blood-clotting disorders
- Exposure to asbestos
- Congenital heart disease
- Living at a high altitude
- Use of illegal drugs
Diagnosis & Treatment
PH is more often diagnosed in people ages between 30 to 60 years. To diagnose first, a doctor will perform a physical exam and ask about your medical and family history. Some other tests also need to help diagnose your conditions such as:
- Blood tests
- Chest X-ray
- ECG
- Echocardiogram
- Polysomnogram
- Heart catheterization
- CT scan
- V/Q scan
- MRI
- Open-lung biopsy
- Lung function test
- Genetic testing
After proper diagnosis and based on the medical reports and health conditions, your pulmonologist will suggest either medications or surgical procedures. Not surprisingly, asthma is also a common symptom of pulmonary hypertension.
In case, if you are worried about your condition, then take a medical consultation to get the best treatment for breathing problems in Siliguri.
Today, more than 81.61% of cases have been improved through medications that are available to help improve your pulmonary hypertension in a rapid format.