Pulmonary Hypertension
George Schiffman, MD, FCCP
Dr. Schiffman received his B.S. degree with High Honors in biology from Hobart College in 1976. He then moved to Chicago where he studied biochemistry at the University of Illinois, Chicago Circle. He attended Rush Medical College where he received his M.D. degree in 1982 and was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. He completed his Internal Medicine internship and residency at the University of California, Irvine.
Siamak T. Nabili, MD, MPH
Dr. Nabili received his undergraduate degree from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), majoring in chemistry and biochemistry. He then completed his graduate degree at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). His graduate training included a specialized fellowship in public health where his research focused on environmental health and health-care delivery and management.
William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR
Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.
- What are pulmonary arteries?
- What is pulmonary hypertension?
- What are primary and secondary pulmonary hypertension?
- What causes pulmonary hypertension?
- What causes primary pulmonary hypertension?
- How common is pulmonary hypertension?
- What are the signs and symptoms of pulmonary hypertension?
- How is pulmonary hypertension diagnosed?
- What is the treatment for pulmonary hypertension?
- What is the life expectancy for pulmonary hypertension?
- Related pulmonary hypertension article:
Pulmonary Hypertension - on eMedicineHealth - Patient Comments: Pulmonary Hypertension - Share Your Experience
- Patient Comments: Pulmonary Hypertension - Treatments
- Patient Comments: Pulmonary Hypertension - Symptoms
- Find a local Cardiologist in your town
What are pulmonary arteries?
The human body has two major sets of blood vessels that distribute blood from the heart to the body. One set pumps blood from the right heart to the lungs and the other from the left heart to the rest of the body.
- The portion of the circulation that
distributes oxygen-rich blood from the left side of the heart, throughout the
body, is referred to as the systemic circulation.
- The blood then returns from
the body to the right side of the heart and passes through the lungs to
replenish oxygen.
- It then returns to the left
side of the heart for another round through the systemic circulation.
- The
portion of the circulation that distributes the blood from the right side of the
heart to the lungs is referred to as the pulmonary (lung) circulation.
- The pulmonary arteries are the major blood vessels that carry blood from the right side of the heart to the lungs.
The left ventricle of the heart pumps oxygenated blood (blood that has been reloaded with oxygen in the lungs) from the lungs into the systemic circulation. When a doctor or a nurse measures the blood pressure on a person's arm, he/she is measuring the pressures in the systemic circulation. When these pressures are abnormally high, the person is diagnosed as having high blood pressure (hypertension).
What is pulmonary hypertension?
The right ventricle pumps blood returning from the body into the pulmonary arteries to the lungs to receive oxygen. The pressures in the lung arteries (pulmonary arteries) are normally significantly lower than the pressures in the systemic circulation. When pressure in the pulmonary circulation becomes abnormally elevated, it is referred to as pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary artery hypertension, or PAH.
Pulmonary hypertension results from constriction, or stiffening, of the pulmonary arteries that supply blood to the lungs. Consequently, it becomes more difficult for the heart to pump blood forward through the lungs. This stress on the heart leads to enlargement of the right heart and eventually fluid can build up in the liver and other tissues, such as the in the legs.
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