If you have Pulmonary hypertension, you have high blood pressure in your pulmonary arteries. These are large vessels that carry blood from the heart to the lungs.
Along with the blood, all the essential nutrients flow in your body, but pulmonary hypertension can disturb the blood flow in your lungs. And high blood pressure also causes narrow arteries that lead your heart to put in additional effort, which may impact your heart function.
Initially, you may not feel any pulmonary hypertension symptoms, but the signs will eventually start to show when time passes.
As a first sign, you may feel shortness of breath during physical activity. But with time, the symptoms become more severe. Some of the later symptoms are:
- Your skin becomes bluish
- Feels pressure in your chest along with pain
- Dizziness or losing consciousness for a short time
- Increase in heartbeat
- Feeling weaker and less active
- Swelling in legs, ankles, or tummy
- Shortness of breath even if you are at rest
There are many underlying causes of pulmonary disease. Although doctors find it to be associated with genetic disorders, there are some other visible causes as well.
One of the major reasons for having pulmonary is the obstruction caused in blood flow. When the blood vessels are unable to allow your blood to flow effectively from the right to the left side of the heart, you may suffer from pulmonary disease.
Some other common causes of Pulmonary hypertension are:
- Severe blood clots in the lung
- Excessive use of alcohol or drug
- Defects in the heart at the time of birth
Depending on pulmonary hypertension causes it is divided into five categories:
Group 1: Pulmonary arterial hypertension
- Due to genetic defects that pass through families, it is called heritable pulmonary arterial hypertension
- As a side effect of illegal drugs or some illegal substances
- In some cases, patients have heart disease from birth
- HIV, severe liver defects such as cirrhosis, and problems with tissue
Group 2: Pulmonary hypertension due to heart disease in left-side
- Left side heart diseases
- Failure in the left ventricle
- The thickening of the muscular walls of your left ventricle makes it difficult for your heart to pump blood
Group 3: Pulmonary hypertension due to illness in the lungs
- Severe pulmonary disease
- Sleep apnea can also cause blocks in airways, which eventually become pulmonary hypertension
- Due to certain lungs disease, the tissue can be damaged in your lungs; leading to less oxygen reaching the lungs
Group 4: Pulmonary hypertension due to blood coat in the lungs
- Severe blood clots block the blood flow in the lungs, leading to an increase in the blood pressure
Group 5: Pulmonary due to some additional health disorder
- Failure in the function of the kidney can also cause high blood pressure
- Gaucher disease affects your organs along with the bones
- If you have a thyroid infection, it can also cause pulmonary hypertension
- In some cases, developing a tumour close to your lungs can also block the blood flow in the lungs.
At first, the doctor will do a physical checkup after performing some tests to get a sure result. During your physical checkup, doctors may ask you about any symptoms you might have or the difficulty in breathing you are facing. They can also check the veins around your neck.
In case of any swollen tissues, doctors will also check your belly, legs, and ankles to confirm oedema and check blood pressure and oxygen levels.
But most of the time, Pulmonary hypertension is harder to detect only by physical tests; therefore, physicians prefer some tests like:
Blood test
To get the complete picture of organ function and the oxygen and hormone levels. It can also be detected in the blood test if you have any infection.
C.T. scan of the chest
In this test, they check all the chest areas to see if there is any blood coat that blocks the flow of blood that causes Pulmonary hypertension.
Chest X-ray
If your pulmonary arteries or right ventricle are larger than normal, it can also cause high blood pressure.
Polysomnogram (PSG)
This test will detect whether you have sleep apnea or not.
Pulmonary artery catheterization
This test can measure the blood pressure inside your arteries and your heart’s blood pump capacity in one minute.
Doppler echocardiogram
This test uses sound waves to check how your right ventricle is working.
Doctors follow different treatment procedures for every diverse group of pulmonary hypertension. Your treatment depends upon your medical condition and the type of disease you have.
But one thing you should take into your mind is that only two kinds of pulmonary hypertension can be directly treated:
- Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension
- Pulmonary artery hypertension
Other than the above two cases, there are additional medical procedures to treat the underlying disease.
- Pulmonary arterial hypertension treatment consists of oxygen therapy, vasodilators, diuretics, and calcium channel blockers.
- Treatment for Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension requires Anticoagulants to prevent blood clots. Balloon atrial septostomy is needed when it comes to babies who have a critical heart disease.
- If you develop pulmonary hypertension due to heart or lung problems, your treatment can be done by managing the underlying cause of the disease.
Most of the time, it is not possible to prevent diseases like pulmonary hypertension, but you can minimize the risk by following some steps:
- Follow a good exercise routine
- Follow a diet that is good for your heart
- Avoid smoking and consuming tobacco
- Focus on the medication to prevent high blood pressure
Pulmonary hypertension can be treated with proper medication by experts; if you feel any symptoms that are similar to this disease, then you should consult with the doctor for better clarity. Even if you have this disease, you can recover by taking proper advice and treatment from the experts.
To get the best treatment for Pulmonary hypertension, visit the CK Birla Hospital to book an appointment with our team of experienced doctors for personalized treatment. Our highly-qualified healthcare professionals are qualified to give the best treatment for pulmonary hypertension.
