Warning signs of people with dangerous pulmonary hypertension

• DNUM_CIZAHZCABG 22:47

Symptoms of early stage pulmonary arterial hypertension are often vague and easily overlooked, so when symptoms appear, the disease is already in a severe stage.

Hypertension is a phenomenon in which the blood pressure in the aorta from the left heart to nourish the body increases, a common disease in our country today. Meanwhile, pulmonary hypertension is increased blood pressure from the right heart to the pulmonary artery (to exchange oxygen), the disease develops silently, few people know about it.

Worldwide, about 2-25 people in a million people are at risk of the disease. In the US, according to a recent study, this rate is 2/1000 live births. In Vietnam, there are currently no complete statistics. Statistics at the National Heart Institute show that from 2014 to present, there have been 73 patients with pulmonary hypertension hospitalized, 43 of whom are in the severe stage.

Unlike hypertension which can be easily detected, to detect pulmonary hypertension the doctor must perform an echocardiogram and right heart catheterization to measure the pressure in the pulmonary artery.

Master Nguyen Minh Hung, National Heart Institute, Bach Mai Hospital (Hanoi) said that in the early stages of the disease, there may be no special symptoms or very mild symptoms that are easily overlooked. When symptoms appear, the disease is often in a severe stage. Symptoms of the disease such as shortness of breath, chest pain, fatigue, leg swelling, fainting, coughing up blood, etc. are also easily confused with other diseases.

Pulmonary hypertension can occur at any age from newborns to the elderly, depending on the cause of the disease. Dr. Truong Thanh Huong, Head of the Pediatric Cardiology Unit, National Heart Institute, Bach Mai Hospital, said that if the disease is not treated or the cause is not removed, the prognosis is often very serious. Common complications are heart failure, increased risk of blood clots forming in small arteries in the lungs, causing pulmonary embolism, arrhythmia, etc.; high risk of death.

Therefore, doctors recommend that patients should go for screening if they have the following signs:

- Shortness of breath without specific symptoms of heart/lung disease or patients with existing heart/lung disease but increased shortness of breath without explanation.

- Fatigue, muscle weakness, chest pain, fainting, indigestion.

- Prominent left sternal border, heart murmur, enlarged liver, limb edema...

People at high risk of the disease include those with a family history of pulmonary hypertension; congenital heart disease; systemic diseases such as scleroderma, lupus erythematosus; history of portal hypertension, cirrhosis; and people infected with HIV.