What is the life expectancy for pulmonary hypertension?
Life expectancy with pulmonary hypertension is highly dependent on the disease underlying the elevated blood pressure. If the triggering disease is easily treatable (as in pulmonary hypertension, which is caused by many small blood clots), life expectancy is very good. People with pulmonary hypertension due to congenital heart disease or acquired weakness of the left heart also usually survive long.
However, if it is the hereditary or idiopathic form of pulmonary hypertension, life expectancy at the time of diagnosis is very limited. Only about 70-80% survival rate is expected within 3 years. Life expectancy is mainly influenced by the degree of damage to the heart caused by pulmonary hypertension.
Usually the right half of the heart is able to fight high blood pressure for a long time. At some point, however, the heart decompensates and is then no longer able to pump against the high pressure, resulting in a massive backlog of blood in the body’s circulation within a very short time. This is often accompanied by severe heart rhythm disturbances, which can lead to sudden death. The therapy of such an acute deterioration of the right heart consists of a strong diuretic treatment in which a lot of fluid is eliminated from the circulation by means of strong water tablets or infusions.
How does the doctor diagnose excessive pressure in the lungs?
Pulmonary hypertension is usually diagnosed at a very late stage, i.e. when the disease is already advanced. The reason for this is the rarity of the disease, which is why affected persons are often only tested for the disease after a few months or years. If symptoms are present, an ultrasound of the heart is usually performed first.
An enlargement of the right half of the heart and a change in the blood flow conditions can be noticed. The final diagnosis is made via a cardiac catheter. A wire is usually inserted from the neck into the heart. There the blood pressure can be measured and thus an increased pressure in the pulmonary circulation can be detected.
