Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) may be a sort of high vital sign that affects arteries within the lungs and heart. Having pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) means you've got high vital sign within the arteries that go from your heart to lungs. It's different from having regular high blood pressure.

With PAH, the small arteries in your lungs become narrow or blocked. It's harder for blood to flow through them, which raises the blood pressure in your lungs. Your heart has got to work harder to pump blood through those arteries, and after a short time the guts muscle gets weak. Eventually, it can cause coronary failure.

Cause

• HIV

• Congestive coronary failure

• Blood clots within the lungs

• Liver disease (such as cirrhosis of the liver)

• Lupus, scleroderma, atrophic arthritis

• Autoimmune diseases

• Lung diseases like emphysema, bronchitis, or pulmonary fibrosis

 Symptoms

You may not notice any symptoms for a short time. The most one is shortness of breath when you're active. It always starts slowly and gets worse as time goes on. Other symptoms include:

• Chest pain

• Fatigue

• Passing out

• Swelling in your ankles and legs

Diagnosis method

Echocardiogram: This ultrasound picture of the beating heart can check vital sign within the pulmonary arteries.

CT scan: this will show enlarged pulmonary arteries. A CT scan also can spot other problems within the lungs that would cause shortness of breath.

Chest X-ray: An X-ray can show if your arteries or heart are enlarged. Chest X-rays can help find other lung or heart conditions which will be causing the issues.

Alpine

Associate Editor

Journal of Clinical Trials

clinicaltrials@eclinicalsci.com