Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Four Types of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

A Florida-based cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr. Hartmuth Bittner draws upon three decades of experience in the medical field. Serving as the president of Gulf Coast Cardiothoracic Surgery Institute in Tampa, Florida, Dr. Hartmuth Bittner specializes in minimally invasive procedures for various cardiothoracic diseases. During his career he has published numerous papers, one of which is titled “The effects of nitric oxide on pulmonary hemodynamics following cardiac transplantation in the setting of chronic pulmonary hypertension.”

A rare and potentially deadly type of pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) occurs when the wall of the arteries that convey blood to the lungs from the right side of the heart narrow and tighten. As a result of the narrowing, pressure rises in the lungs, resulting in shortness of breath and fatigue. For patients with PAH, getting the appropriate diagnosis and initiating treatment is crucial to prevent the condition from worsening over time.

Based on the cause, PAH can be categorized into 4 types. These are:

Drug-induced PAH: Just as the name implies, this is any PAH that has been linked to certain medications. For example, the weight loss drugs phentermine and fenfluramine, caused PAH in some patients before the drugs were removed from the market.

Associative PAH: If a patient’s PAF is associated with a pre-existing condition, such as congenital heart disease or HIV, the PAH is considered associative.

Inherited PAH: In some families, mutations of certain genes that code for tissue-growth mediating receptors (special proteins on cell surfaces) increase susceptibility to PAH.

Idiopathic PAH: Unlike the other types, idiopathic PAH has no known cause.