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Pulmonary Hypertension Symptoms and Complications

Author: Shelley Ensz. Scleroderma is highly variable. See Types of Scleroderma. Read Disclaimer

Symptoms and Complications of Pulmonary Hypertension

Initially there may be no symptoms at all. Later, symptoms include shortness of breath, weakness, and fatigue with exertion. As it progresses, patients become very tired after only slight activity. Eventually, patients experience right-sided heart failure and death. However, the course of mild to moderate PH in scleroderma patients is still unknown, and its possible that it may persist unchanged for long periods of time.
Depressive symptoms in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH): prevalence and association with functional status. Depression is common in patients with PAH, with 55% demonstrating depressive symptoms. These results suggest that screening patients with PAH will identify a large proportion of patients who might benefit from depression therapy. McCollister DH. (PubMed) Psychosomatics. 2010 Jul;51(4):339-339.e8. (Also see: Depression)
Peripheral Muscle Dysfunction in Idiopathic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension. A majority of idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) patients display persistent exercise intolerance despite new specific therapies. IPAH patients present significant peripheral muscle changes that partly correlated with their exercise capacity. Vincent Mainguy. Thorax. 08/30/09.
Shortness of Breath This worrisome symptom has many acute and chronic causes. Follow this flowchart for more information about the diseases in which shortness of breath occurs. familydoctor.org.
What are common symptoms of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension? Common early symptoms include breathlessness or shortness of breath (particularly on exertion), chronic fatigue, dizziness (especially when walking upstairs or when standing up), fainting, swollen ankles and legs, and chest pain (especially during physical activity). Actelion Pharmaceuticals.
The relationship of dyspnoea to function and quality of life (QoL) in systemic sclerosis (SSc). Interstitial lung disease contributes significantly to the sense of dyspnoea, function and health realted QoL in SSc. Pulmonary hypertension, assessed echocardiographically by the pulmonary artery systolic pressure, predicts the degree of dyspnoea but not function and HRQoL in SSc. M. Baron. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 2008;67:644-650. (Also see: Pulmonary Involvement,and Fibrosis)
 
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