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Pulmonary hypertension

Hypertensio pulmonalis · Plicní hypertenze

What it is

Pressure in the lung arteries rises and the right heart fails against it.

Symptoms & signs

  • Breathlessness on exertion
  • fainting
  • chest pain
  • ankle swelling
  • blue lips late on

🚩 Get help if…

  • call 112 / 911 now Fainting or chest pain on exertion
  • call 112 / 911 now Coughing up blood
  • see a doctor soon Breathlessness getting worse over weeks
  • see a doctor soon Swelling of legs or belly, or weight gain

Where it strikes

Medical treatment

  • Endothelin antagonists (bosentan)
  • PDE5 inhibitors (sildenafil)
  • prostacyclins
  • riociguat
  • oxygen
  • transplant
  • Sotatercept — approved 2024 (FDA, EMA) as an add-on for pulmonary arterial hypertension

Natural & lifestyle

  • Supervised low-level exercise
  • salt and fluid limits
  • flu vaccination
  • avoid altitude and pregnancy

Emerging & experimental

  • Pulmonary artery denervation
  • balloon pulmonary angioplasty for CTEPH

Alternative, off-label & anecdotal

Approaches used outside the guidelines, with what their supporters report and what testing has found so far.

  • Dietary nitrate (beetroot) — small studies lower lung pressure early / small studies
  • Iron replacement when deficient — better exercise in small trials early / small studies
  • Breathing training and singing — small studies of quality of life anecdotal / traditional

ICD codes