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Symptoms and Treatments of Pulmonary Hypertension

Pulmonary hypertension (PAH) [1] is a rare non-communicable disease that significantly affects people of African and Hispanic origin. It is defined by the World Health Organization as “a mean pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) measured by right heart catheterization ≥ 25 mm Hg”. The global prevalence of pulmonary hypertension stands at 20 million – 70 million persons. Pulmonary hypertension has a variety of causes and this includes; left-sided heart problem, diseases of the lungs, essential polycythemia, pulmonary embolism, etc.

Recognizing Early-Onset Symptoms

Initial symptoms of PAH, especially difficulty in breathing and tiredness, often give the impression of stress. After all, even though you’re physically active every day, it’s not unusual to get tired while ascending or descending stairs a few times. For this reason, initial signs [2] of PAH are often ignored and, without treatment, the disease process progresses. This partly explains the deadliness of this disease condition.