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Primary Pulmonary Hypertension: Lungs
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Primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH) is a rare disease that has no known cause that results in the progressive narrowing of the blood vessels of the lungs. This, in turn, leads to high blood pressure in these blood vessels and can eventually lead to heart failure. Secondary pulmonary hypertension (SPH) is the result of other types of lung disease, abnormal breathing processes or heart disease.
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Pulmonary hypertension is the narrowing of the pulmonary arterioles within the lung. The narrowing of the arteries creates resistance and an increased work load for the heart. The heart becomes enlarged from pumping blood against the resistance. Some symptoms include chest pain, weakness, shortness of breath, and fatigue. The goal of treatment is control of the symptoms, although the disease usually develops into congestive heart failure.
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The median duration of survival after the diagnosis of primary pulmonary hypertension is 2.8 years, but this figure is highly variable. As a result of new treatments, patients without hemodynamic evidence of right ventricular dysfunction may survive for more than 10 years. The prognosis for patients with secondary pulmonary hypertension depends on the underlying disease, as well as right ventricular function. For instance, patients with COPD and moderate airflow obstruction have a three-year mortality rate of 50 percent after the onset of right ventricular failure. Survival is similarly influenced in patients with interstitial lung disease and pulmonary hypertension.
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Primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH) is a relatively rare type of lung disorder that is associated with a higher-than-normal blood pressure (exceeding 25 mmHg) in the pulmonary artery. The pulmonary artery is the blood vessel connecting the right ventricle of the heart with the lungs. Deoxygenated blood is transported from the heart to the lungs where it is oxygenated.
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Pulmonary hypertension is high blood pressure in the arteries to your lungs. It is a serious condition for which there are treatments but no cure. If you have it, the blood vessels that carry oxygen-poor blood from your heart to your lungs become hard and narrow. Your heart has to work harder to pump the blood through. Over time, your heart weakens and cannot do its job and you can develop heart failure.
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Pulmonary hypertension results from constriction, or tightening, of the blood vessels that supply blood to the lungs. Consequently, it becomes difficult for blood to pass through the lungs, making it harder for the heart to pump blood forward. This stress on the heart leads to enlargement of the heart and eventually fluid can build up in the liver and tissues, such as the in the legs. Affected patients can sometimes notice increasing shortness of breath and dizziness.
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