Primary pulmonary hypertension is commonly referred to as PPH, or unexplained pulmonary hypertension. This is a rare lung problem where the pulmonary artery has highly elevated blood pressure and can not be explained by an other reason. The function of the pulmonary artery is to pump blood through the heart’s pumping chamber and into the lungs to pick up oxygen in the lungs before returning to the heart through the other side. This is the process the heart and lungs perform to add oxygen to blood before sending it to the body.
Hypertension in general is another term for high blood pressure.
Ultimately, primary pulmonary hypertension can cause the right ventricle to struggle to provide the body with enough blood that has been put through the lungs. It is a relatively rare problem on the whole with only about 1000 new cases each year. It can strike anybody at any age, though women between 20 and 40 years of age seem to be the most common cases. This affliction can even be found rarely in young children.
Primary pulmonary hypertension is actually still a bit of a mystery to the medical community as far as what causes it. There are some links to Renaud’s disease, as well as drug use, and HIV. The connections seem to be with anything that narrows or constricts the pulmonary artery, leading to primary pulmonary hypertension.
The most difficult part of primary pulmonary hypertension is the fact that it is hard to diagnose early. The reason for this includes a very generalized set of symptoms that are not always the same in every patient. Usually, the symptoms of primary pulmonary hypertension will include fatigue, breathing problems, and swelling in the legs or ankles. Patients also might present with a discoloration of the skin or chest pains as the affliction progresses.
If a patient is diagnosed early with primary pulmonary hypertension, the prognosis is often quite good. Many people return to a very normal lifestyle if they catch the problem early. There have been wonderful advancements in the treatment of primary pulmonary hypertension in recent years, and early detection is the key.
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