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Pulmonary Hypertension - Causes - Causes

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Your genes gene (jeen):
The unit that passes heredity from parents to children. Genes are pieces of DNA and contain information for making a specific protein. or other medical conditions can cause pulmonary pulmonary (PUL-muh-NAYR-ee):
Having to do with the lungs. hypertension. Certain medical conditions can damage, change, or block the blood vessels of the pulmonary arteries. The cause of pulmonary hypertension is not always clear.

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To understand pulmonary hypertension, it is helpful to understand the flow of blood through the heart and lungs. The right side of your heart receives oxygen-poor blood from your body\u2019s tissues. The pulmonary arteries connect your right heart and lungs. The heart pumps blood through the pulmonary arteries to the lungs to become oxygen-rich blood. The force or pressure of the blood against the walls of the pulmonary arteries is called the pulmonary pressure.

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To learn more, visit How the Lungs Work and How the Heart Works.

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\n Genes \n
- Pulmonary Hypertension - Causes

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Gene mutations mutation (myoo-TAY-shun):
Any change in a nucleic acid sequence, such as DNA or RNA. are found in some people who have a family history of pulmonary arterial hypertension. Mutations are also found often in patients who do not have a family history.

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\n Medical conditions \n
- Pulmonary Hypertension - Causes

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Many medical conditions can cause pulmonary hypertension. One type of pulmonary hypertension\u2014called pulmonary arterial hypertension\u2014is caused by conditions that result in narrowing of the pulmonary arteries themselves, such as scleroderma or HIV. Narrowed blood vessels can increase blood pressure in the lungs.

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Medical conditions that can cause pulmonary hypertension include:

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  • Blood clots in the lungs, called pulmonary embolism, a type of venous thromboembolism (VTE)
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  • Chronic exposure to high altitude
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  • Chronic kidney failure
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  • Congenital heart defects or congenital narrowing of the pulmonary arteries
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  • Connective tissue diseases, such as scleroderma
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  • HIV
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  • Infection with parasites, such as schistosomiasis or Echinococcus, which are tapeworms
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  • Left heart diseases, such as left heart failure, which may be caused by high blood pressure throughout your body or ischemic heart disease; and heart valve diseases, such as aortic stenosis stenosis (ste-NO-sis):
    A narrowing of a tubular structure or opening. For example, in aortic stenosis, the aortic valve is abnormally narrowed.     and mitral valve disease
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  • Liver diseases, such as cirrhosis, that lead to higher-than-normal blood pressures in the liver
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  • Lung diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), interstitial lung disease, or sleep apnea
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  • Metabolic disorders, such as thyroid disorders or Gaucher disease
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  • Sarcoidosis
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  • Sickle cell disease
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  • tumor tumor (TOO-mer):
    An abnormal mass of tissue that results when cells divide more than they should or do not die when they should. Tumors may be benign (not cancerous) or malignant (cancerous). Also called neoplasm.     in the lungs
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\n Look for \n
- Pulmonary Hypertension - Causes

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  • Treatment will discuss medicines and procedures that your doctors may recommend if you are diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension.
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Syndicated Content Details:
Source URL: https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/subscribe/4211
Source Agency: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Captured Date: 2019-01-07 15:32:00.0
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