Pulmonary Hypertension Awareness Day — Learn about pulmonary hypertension from AboutKidsHealth
To mark Pulmonary Hypertension Awareness Day, AboutKidsHealth is sharing information about pulmonary hypertension and how it’s treated.Pulmonary hypertension occurs when there is high pressure in the pulmonary artery (the artery that carries blood from the right side of the heart to the lungs), making the heart work harder to pump blood to the lungs. This condition is very rare in children, but it is serious.
Causes and symptoms
Pulmonary hypertension can appear on its own with no clear cause, but it may also occur as a result of other conditions, such as:
Pulmonary hypertension is challenging to treat; however, treatments have become available that can slow down the disease or even help reverse the damage to the lungs.
AboutKidsHealth is SickKids’ health-education website and features more than 3,500 articles on a range of paediatric health topics. Find more information on pulmonary hypertension and other health topics at aboutkidshealth.ca.
Pulmonary hypertension can appear on its own with no clear cause, but it may also occur as a result of other conditions, such as:
- chronic lung disease
- blood clots in the lung vessels
- chronic exposure to high altitude
Pulmonary Hypertension Awareness Day is May 5th
Pulmonary hypertension may also be associated with congenital heart disease.
Symptoms of pulmonary hypertension may include:
- decreased exercise tolerance
- shortness of breath
- chest pain
- fainting or near fainting
Diagnosis
To diagnose pulmonary hypertension, your child’s doctor will take their medical history and do a physical exam. They will also do an electrocardiogram, a chest X-ray and an echocardiogram. The best test to confirm diagnosis is a heart catheterization. This test allows the doctor to assess how severe the condition is and whether the pressure in the pulmonary artery can be lowered with drugs.
Treatment
Treatment of pulmonary hypertension is aimed at relieving symptoms. Treatment options include:
- oxygen to lower blood pressure and help the child breathe more easily
- drugs called diuretics to get rid of extra fluid in the body
- specific drugs given by mouth that may lower the pressures in the pulmonary artery
Pulmonary hypertension is challenging to treat; however, treatments have become available that can slow down the disease or even help reverse the damage to the lungs.
AboutKidsHealth is SickKids’ health-education website and features more than 3,500 articles on a range of paediatric health topics. Find more information on pulmonary hypertension and other health topics at aboutkidshealth.ca.
