Pulmonary Hypertension—Aneurysms

An aneurysm is a bulge or “ballooning” in the wall of an artery. Arteries are blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood from the heart to other parts of the body. If an aneurysm grows large, it can burst and cause dangerous bleeding or even death.

Most aneurysms occur in the aorta, the main artery that runs from the heart through the chest and abdomen. Aneurysms also can happen in arteries in the brain, heart and other parts of the body. If an aneurysm in the brain bursts, it causes a stroke.

Aneurysms can develop and become large before causing any symptoms. Often doctors can stop aneurysms from bursting if they find and treat them early. They use imaging tests to find aneurysms. Often aneurysms are found by chance during tests done for other reasons. Medicines and surgery are the two main treatments for aneurysms.

NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

• Aneurysm (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Magnetic resonance angiography (Medical Encyclopedia)

Also called: Pulmonary arterial hypertension

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is high blood pressure in the arteries to your lungs. It is a serious condition. If you have it, the blood vessels that carry blood from your heart to your lungs become hard and narrow. Your heart has to work harder to pump the blood through. Over time, your heart weakens and cannot do its job and you can develop heart failure.

Symptoms of PH include

• Shortness of breath during routine activity, such as climbing two flights of stairs
• Tiredness
• Chest pain
• A racing heartbeat
• Pain on the upper right side of the abdomen
• Decreased appetite

As PH worsens, you may find it hard to do any physical activities.

There are two main kinds of PH. One runs in families or appears for no known reason. The other kind is related to another condition, usually heart or lung disease.

There is no cure for PH. Treatments can control symptoms. They involve treating the heart or lung disease, medicines, oxygen, and sometimes lung transplantation.

NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

• Cor pulmonale (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Lung diffusion testing (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Pulmonary angiography (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Pulmonary hypertension (Medical Encyclopedia)