Medical history (history of illness) is an important component in the diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension (pulmonary hypertension).
Family history
- Are there any diseases in your family that are common?
- Are there any hereditary diseases in your family?
Social history
- What is your profession?
- Are you exposed to harmful working substances in your profession?
Current medical history/systemic medical history (somatic and psychological complaints).
- What symptoms have you noticed?
- How long have these symptoms been present?
- When does the shortness of breath occur? Under stress? At rest?*
- Have you noticed a bluish discoloration of the skin?
- Have you noticed a rapid pulse or heart palpitations?
Vegetative anamnesis including nutritional anamnesis.
- Are you overweight? Please tell us your body weight (in kg) and height (in cm).
- Do you smoke? If so, how many cigarettes, cigars or pipes per day?
- Do you drink alcohol more often? If yes, what drink(s) and how many glasses of it per day?
- Do you use drugs? If yes, which drugs (amphetamines) and how often per day or per week?
Self history incl. drug history.
- Pre-existing conditions (heart / lung disease)
- Surgeries (surgeries with relevance)
- Radiotherapy
- Allergies
- Environmental history (hazardous substances)
Medication history
- Appetite suppressants, unspecified
- Diazoxide (neonatology/teaching the newborn and its diseases to treat hypoglycemia/ hypoglycemia) – may cause pulmonary hypertension in isolated cases in infants
- Drugs and substances that may induce PAH (arranged by risk potential):
- Safe: aminorex, fenfluramine, dexfenfluramine, canola (rapeseed) oil, benfluorex.
- Probable: amphetamines, L-tryptophan, metamphetamines.
- Possible: cocaine, norephedrine, St. John’s wort, chemotherapies, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), pergolide
- Unlikely: oral contraceptives, estrogen, cigarette smoking.
- Medications that may induce interstitial lung disease (DILD):
- Antibiotics and fungicides: amphotericin B, isoniazid, nitrofurantoin, sulfasalazine.
- Anti-inflammatory drugs: Acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), etanercept, gold, methotrexate, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), penicillamine.
- Biologics: adalimumab, alemtuzumab, bevacizumab, cetuximab, rituximab, trastuzumab, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blockers, infliximab
- Cardiovascular drugs: ACE inhibitors, amiodarone, coumarin derivatives, beta blockers, flecainide, hydrochlorothiazide (HCT), procainamide, statins, tocainide.
- Immunosuppressants and chemotherapeutic agents: Azathioprine, BCNU, bleomycin, bortezomib, busulfan, carmustine, chlorambucil, cyclophosphamide, cytarabine, deferoxamine, docetaxel, doxorubicin, erlotinib, etoposide, fludarabine, Flutamide, Gefitinib, Gemcitabine, Hydroxyurea, Imatinib, Interferon, Lomustine, Melphalan, Methotrexate, Methyl-CCNU, Mitomycin-C, Paclitaxel, Procarbazine, Thalidomide, Vinblastine.
- Varia: bromocriptine, carbamazepine, cabergolide, methysergide, penicillamine, phenytoin, sirolimus (rapamycin).
* If this question has been answered with “Yes”, an immediate visit to the doctor is required! (Data without guarantee)
