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Overview
Idiopathic Pulmonary Hypertension is a debilitating and fatal disease caused by a thickening and narrowing of the blood vessels in the lungs, which causes increased blood pressure. The narrowing of the blood vessels that exchange oxygen in the lungs causes the right side of the heart to thicken to compensate for the increased blood pressure. Eventually the right side of the heart weakens.
Symptoms of the disease start with shortness of breath during exercise and can progress to dizziness, sleepiness, fainting and shortness of breath when the body is at rest, and eventually leads to heart failure.
While there are no cures for the disease, current treatments can extend the lives of patients five to seven years. These current standard treatments for pulmonary arterial hypertension include a variety of drugs aimed at interrupting the cycles of chemicals or pathways associated with the thickening of the pulmonary arteries.
The exact causes of pulmonary hypertension are not known, but heart and lung diseases and other genetic factors can contribute to the disease's progression. Without treatment, the diseases can be fatal in two to three years.
Additional pulmonary hypertension resources include:
Pulmonary Hypertension Association
American Heart Association
American Lung Association
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