How to identify the unfamiliar yet common pulmonary arterial hypertension?

Today is May 5th and is also the 12th "International Pulmonary Hypertension Day"

We are all familiar with "hypertension", but many people feel unfamiliar with "pulmonary arterial hypertension".

Pulmonary arterial hypertension can be simply understood as "pulmonary high blood pressure".

The pulmonary artery is a large blood vessel that connects to the right ventricle of the heart. Venous blood from the whole body is transported to the lungs through the pulmonary artery for oxygenation, and then becomes oxygen-rich blood to the left heart, and then transported to tissues and organs throughout the body. It is conceivable that the pulmonary artery is extremely important. When various factors cause the pulmonary artery to contract or even remodel, the pulmonary artery pressure increases progressively. If it is not effectively treated in the early stage, right ventricular failure may even occur in the later stage! Classification of pulmonary hypertension

1. Arterial pulmonary hypertension; 2. Pulmonary hypertension caused by left heart disease;

3. Pulmonary hypertension caused by lung disease and/or hypoxia;

4. Pulmonary hypertension caused by chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension and/or other pulmonary artery obstructive lesions;

5. Pulmonary hypertension caused by unknown and/or multiple factors.

For patients with pulmonary hypertension, the most important thing is to identify the cause so that they can receive symptomatic treatment.

Pulmonary Hypertension—Unfamiliar but Not Uncommon

"People usually think that pulmonary hypertension is a rare disease, but this is actually inaccurate. It's just that the public lacks knowledge about it." Liu Zhihong introduced that the prevalence of pulmonary hypertension accounts for 1% of the world's total population, and the patient population is relatively large. There are 330 million cardiovascular disease patients in China, and pulmonary hypertension caused by left heart system diseases accounts for as high as 75%; pulmonary hypertension caused by lung disease and/or hypoxia accounts for 10%. In addition, it is more common in middle-aged and elderly patients with cardiovascular diseases. Statistics show that the prevalence in people over 65 years old is as high as 5%-10%. It is a truly common and frequently occurring disease.

The cause is complex and difficult to identify in the early stages

The main causes of pulmonary hypertension are increased pulmonary vascular resistance caused by heart disease, autoimmune disease, blood disease, genetic mutation, etc. When pulmonary vascular resistance increases, it will affect the right heart system's blood pumping, which will then lead to reduced blood supply to various organs throughout the body. In mild cases, patients will feel tired and weak, and in severe cases, they will feel shortness of breath and have difficulty breathing during activities.

In addition, when the pulmonary artery pressure increases, the right heart function is affected, the pulmonary venous pressure will be high, and the amount of blood returning to the heart will be affected. Therefore, patients often experience lower limb edema, and as the disease progresses, ascites, pleural effusion, etc. will appear.

Experts remind: Pulmonary hypertension can be an independent disease, a complication, or a syndrome. Pay enough attention to it!

Be the first person to do health management!

Pulmonary hypertension is a chronic progressive and deteriorating disease, so it is important to improve patients' long-term self-management awareness and ability. Liu Zhihong said that clinical summaries of cases of worsening of the disease or death have found that most people have the following predisposing factors:

1. The most common is that patients catch a cold, which causes lung infection and worsens the condition.

2. People with poor heart function who drink a lot of water in a short period of time may suffer from acute heart failure.

3. Inappropriate exercise methods. "Some patients are in good condition and have been receiving regular treatment, but they misjudge their physical condition and go climbing stairs. Such intense exercise can aggravate the condition and even endanger life," the expert explained.

4. Rapid heart rate or tachycardia. For some patients, standing up quickly when lying down may aggravate the condition.

5. 40% of acute attacks are caused by straining during defecation. The increased abdominal pressure will speed up the heartbeat and disrupt the heart's blood circulation, which will cause a rapid drop in blood pressure and endanger life.

At the end of the program, the experts gave life advice to the patients: in addition to strengthening self-management awareness, they should learn to avoid the above risk factors in their daily lives and reduce acute attacks. At the same time, they should pay attention to standardized medication and regular treatment. They hope that the patients can resume normal life and work as soon as possible.

Source: Popular Science China, People's Good Doctor