How dangerous is pulmonary hypertension?

Written by Wang Chun Mei
Pulmonology
Updated on November 20, 2024
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Pulmonary hypertension is itself a very complex disease, with many causative factors in clinical practice. In the early stages, patients may only exhibit symptoms such as shortness of breath after activity, difficulty breathing, and overall fatigue. However, as the condition gradually worsens, patients may experience chest tightness, rapid breathing, and even chest pain, fainting, or dizziness. If the patient also has right heart dysfunction, they may experience symptoms like swelling of the lower limbs, as well as diarrhea and abdominal distension. Therefore, if pulmonary hypertension patients are definitively diagnosed and do not receive timely appropriate treatment, the accompanying clinical symptoms may rapidly worsen. The patient's life may be at risk due to severe symptoms such as hypoxia or fainting.

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Written by Zeng Wei Jie
Cardiology
51sec home-news-image

Pulmonary hypertension belongs to which department?

Pulmonary hypertension is a relatively complex disease with many types, and the department to which a patient should go depends on the type. For example, patients with idiopathic pulmonary hypertension often need to visit the department of cardiology. Similarly, pulmonary hypertension associated with left heart disease also falls under the jurisdiction of cardiology. However, if the pulmonary hypertension is related to hypoxia, these patients typically belong to the department of respiratory medicine. Furthermore, there are cases of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension, where patients can be seen either in cardiology or respiratory medicine. Therefore, answering which department pulmonary hypertension belongs to is a complex issue that requires classification based on the cause of the disease.

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Written by Tang Li
Cardiology
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How to diagnose pulmonary arterial hypertension?

To accurately diagnose pulmonary hypertension, the following aspects should be considered: symptoms, signs, laboratory, and other tests. Early-stage pulmonary hypertension usually doesn't exhibit clear symptoms, but discomfort occurs during intense activities. Common symptoms include difficulty breathing, chest pain, dizziness or fainting, and coughing up blood. Additionally, patients should undergo laboratory tests such as blood tests including liver function tests and HIV antibody testing, serological tests; an electrocardiogram to check for right ventricular enlargement or hypertrophy; chest X-ray; echocardiography and Doppler ultrasound; pulmonary function tests; blood gas analysis; radioactive isotope lung ventilation/perfusion scan; right heart catheterization; and lung biopsy.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Wang Chun Mei
Pulmonology
57sec home-news-image

How dangerous is pulmonary hypertension?

Pulmonary hypertension is itself a very complex disease, with many causative factors in clinical practice. In the early stages, patients may only exhibit symptoms such as shortness of breath after activity, difficulty breathing, and overall fatigue. However, as the condition gradually worsens, patients may experience chest tightness, rapid breathing, and even chest pain, fainting, or dizziness. If the patient also has right heart dysfunction, they may experience symptoms like swelling of the lower limbs, as well as diarrhea and abdominal distension. Therefore, if pulmonary hypertension patients are definitively diagnosed and do not receive timely appropriate treatment, the accompanying clinical symptoms may rapidly worsen. The patient's life may be at risk due to severe symptoms such as hypoxia or fainting.

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Written by Zeng Wei Jie
Cardiology
36sec home-news-image

Late-stage symptoms of pulmonary arterial hypertension

The prognosis of pulmonary hypertension depends on the function of the right heart. The main symptoms in the final stage of pulmonary hypertension are those of right heart failure. At this time, the patient mainly shows symptoms such as swelling of the lower limbs, oliguria, and abdominal distension. The difficulty in breathing may be slightly less severe than in the early stages. These symptoms are mainly caused by venous congestion in the systemic circulation, which prevents blood from returning from the lower limbs, leading to edema or ascites in the lower parts of the body.

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Written by Xie Zhi Hong
Cardiology
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Pulmonary hypertension vomiting, what's the matter?

In the early stages, arterial hypertension may present no symptoms. However, when it reaches a certain severity, it can lead to difficulties in breathing, tightness in the chest, and may cause edema in the gastrointestinal tract, facial swelling, and fluid accumulation in the abdominal and thoracic cavities. When gastrointestinal edema becomes severe, patients may experience nausea, vomiting, and a significant loss of appetite. Thus, these are symptoms of pulmonary arterial hypertension. Some cases of vomiting occur because patients consume high-fat foods that are not absorbed in a timely manner, leading to gastrointestinal bloating which causes nausea and vomiting. Additionally, some cases involve patients who use diuretics to reduce swelling; they often experience vomiting due to electrolyte imbalances, such as low sodium and low potassium levels.