Pulmonary Hypertension

Significant advances in the treatment of Primary Pulmonary Hypertension (PPH) have been made since the 1990s. While there is still no cure for this condition, there are now a variety of options that increase the quality of life and improve the long-term prognosis for people with this disease.

If you have been diagnosed with PPH as a result of Fen-Phen use, you have several options available for treatment depending on how far advanced your disease is and how healthy you are in other respects. Other considerations such as allergies are also an important factor in determining whether you will be treated with Flolan or another similar drug.

Primary Pulmonary Hypertension is caused by increased blood pressure in the lungs, which in turn has a variety of causes, one of which is known to be prolonged use of the diet drug Fen-Phen. The high blood pressure in the lungs puts extra strain on the heart of the affected individual, and causes shortness of breath, fatigue, fainting, dizziness, and cyanosis (a blue tinge to the skin of the feet, hands, and lips).

Drugs used for PPH treatment are, therefore, typically targeted to expanding lung blood vessels and increasing blood flow to the lungs in order to ease the strain on the heart and provide relief from the symptoms of the disease.

Determining which of these drugs is the best to use for PPH treatment can be a lengthy process. Individual reactions to each drug can vary quite widely, so a patient may have to try several different treatment options before an effective long-term treatment can be established.

Approximately 25% of patients can be treated effectively with oral medication using drugs called calcium channel blockers; however for those that do not respond to this medication, stronger oral medications or intravenously-administered drugs such as Flolan are needed to treat PPH effectively.

While Flolan is an effective medication for the treatment of Primary Pulmonary Hypertension, it does have some disadvantages. Flolan is administered intravenously directly into the patient's bloodstream, via a catheter which must be surgically implanted into a chest vein.

Once the drug is injected, it functions for only five minutes in the body, and this means that a patient being treated with Flolan must be continually injected with new doses of the drug (via the catheter) to maintain an optimum level of treatment. People receiving Flolan treatment wear a small battery-operated pump which injects Flolan into the catheter at a pre-determined rate.

All of this means that for people who have had and would like to maintain a very active lifestyle, Flolan may not be the best choice for PPH treatment. The preparation that is injected must be prepared daily, as the drug has a very short life-span, and the pump must be kept cold with mini ice packs if the supply of the drug is to last longer than eight hours without being renewed.

The pump itself can also interfere with daily life. Certain sporting activities, such as swimming and other water sports are made more difficult, and high impact activities such as contact sports are not recommended due to the possibility of the pump or catheter being displaced. The effects of sudden withdrawal of Flolan treatment, even if for a short time only, can be quite severe, and may cause breathing difficulties as well as dizziness and weakness.

Despite its disadvantages, Flolan treatment has some advantages when compared to treatment with other medications such as Tracleer. The side effects of Flolan are typically less severe than those of some other medications used for PPH treatment, particularly for long-term use. Tracleer, for example, can cause liver damage and is known to be harmful to unborn babies.

Flolan can improve the quality of life for people with PPH quite dramatically, and can improve the long term prognosis for the disease as well as enabling individuals to achieve a normal level of physical fitness and activity. Flolan treatment is also known to slow down the progress of scarring in lung tissue caused by Primary Pulmonary Hypertension, and it is now viewed as an effective alternative to lung transplantation (which was once used as a last resort for PPH treatment and carries its own set of risks).

By: Nick Johnson

Labels: and hypertension, hypertension, hypertension causes, hypertension is, hypertension symptoms, hypertension treatment, hypertensive, pregnancy hypertension, pulmonary, pulmonary hypertension

Since the 1990s, the field of Primary Pulmonary Hypertension (PPH) has made considerable advances, with several new drugs available for people with the disease. Both quality of life and long-term prognosis for people with Primary Pulmonary Hypertension is improved thanks to drugs such as Tracleer. There are several options available for PPH treatment, and the best treatment for each individual will depend on their lifestyle and how serious their condition is.

Primary Pulmonary Hypertension can be caused by a variety of different means, including prolonged use of the diet drug known commercially as Fen-Phen. PPH results in increased lung blood pressure, decreased blood flow in the lungs, and excess strain on the heart as it works harder to pump blood into the lungs. Most PPH treatment medications work to relax blood vessels in the lungs. The blood vessels are then able to more easily pump blood into the lungs, and the heart no longer has to work overtime to keep up.

Individual patient responses to each PPH treatment drug vary quite widely. Ultimately the only way of finding out which of the available drugs is the best for a given situation is to try them all in turn. It can take quite a long time to establish an effective treatment plan, but unfortunately there is currently no other way of determining which drug will work most effectively.

Around 75% of people with PPH require the use of strong oral or intravenous treatments to slow the progress of the disease and alleviate symptoms. Two of the most commonly-used PPH treatment medications are Tracleer and Flolan. In some respects, Tracleer treatment is the better option, however it does have some risks that Flolan does not. The best drug for any given situation will depend mostly on how well the patient responds to each.

Perhaps one of the most significant advantages of Tracleer treatment is its ease of use. It is an oral medication that is very easy to take, especially when compared with other available PPH treatment medications. Flolan and Remodulin, for example, are both administered intravenously. The user must carry around a small battery-operated pump to ensure a continuous supply of the drug. Tracleer treatment is a better choice for people who want to maintain an active lifestyle, and the drug creates virtually no limitations on what can be achieved while taking it.

It also causes less severe withdrawal symptoms if drug use is discontinued. Flolan must be continuously administered, because it lasts only a very short time in the body. This means that if the supply of Flolan is suddenly discontinued very severe withdrawal symptoms can result, because there is no residual supply of the drug in the body. Because Tracleer is an oral medication taken several times a day, the effects of a sudden discontinuation of the drug are much less serious (however, regardless of which drug is taken for PPH treatment, it is important that treatment is not discontinued unless your doctor advises it and monitors your condition closely).

There are some disadvantages associated with Tracleer treatment. If you are pregnant at the time you are diagnosed with Primary Pulmonary Hypertension, using it as a PPH treatment will not be a safe option for you. It is known to cause birth defects if taken during pregnancy and the drug is unsafe to take if you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant. Most PPH treatment drugs require similar precautions; however the effects of Tracleer on unborn babies are much stronger. In addition, it interacts with most forms of contraceptive pill, injection and implant to make them less effective. Women of child-bearing age taking it must use at least two very reliable forms of birth control in addition to taking monthly pregnancy tests to ensure pregnancy does not occur.

Another clear disadvantage of Tracleer treatment is that it can cause serious damage to the liver. People with any type of abnormal liver or kidney function cannot take it. Those who do take the drug must undergo regular liver function tests, and must look out for certain warning signs that indicate liver damage. It is thought, however, that this type of treatment does not cause permanent liver damage. Those patients who stop taking the drug due to liver damage almost always find that the damage reverses itself once this treatment stops.

Although it does have some clear disadvantages, it is a very effective option for treating Pulmonary Primary Hypertension. Tracleer treatment is so effective that it is now considered a long-term alternative to lung transplantation.

By: Nick Johnson

Labels: and hypertension, hypertension, hypertension causes, hypertension is, hypertension symptoms, hypertension treatment, hypertensive, pregnancy hypertension, pulmonary, pulmonary hypertension

There is a rare condition called primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH), symptoms of which can occur unknowingly in anyone of any age. But PPH's highest percentage of occurrence is said to be among women between the ages of 20 and 40. Primary pulmonary hypertension in babies is also a possibility, and one known cause of these particular cases is the taking of certain antidepressants by the women who are pregnant with them during their twentieth week or later.

It has been said that the report should not encourage these women to wean themselves off of the medications. The antidepressants studied specifically for this in recent months have well-known names: Celexa, Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft. Primary pulmonary hypertension in babies has been predicted to cause death in about 10 to 20 percent of them not long after birth.

Symptoms of primary pulmonary hypertension in babies to look for may include hearing loss, abnormalities in the brain, dysfunctional development, poor eating, seizures, and anxiety. In older patients, they can include fatigue (as an initial symptom), difficult breathing, lightheadedness, dizziness, possible fainting spells, leg/ankle swollenness, chest pain, coughing up blood, or bluish discoloration of lips or other parts of the body (also known as cyanosis).

Pregnant women who discover primary pulmonary hypertension in babies may be able to file a lawsuit against drug companies in the event they did not receive sufficient warning on their medications' labels beforehand. While they may not be able to recover the loss of life, such lawsuits, if nothing else, can give them a chance at financial compensation.

If you are an older patient manifesting PPH, you should know that you should expect to develop the illness only very gradually. The median amount of time it is said to take to reach full development is three years. However, you should try to find a physician who has the latest technology available to help you diagnose it while it is in its earliest stages.

Depending on the treatments you decide to pursue, you can expect an eventual return to normal functioning especially if you did not need a diagnosis until after the age of 40. Your options can include calcium channel-blockers, anticoagulants, diuretics, intravenous prostacyclin, supplemental oxygen, or, as a last resort, lung/heart-lung transplantation which needs evaluation at a transplantation center to be approved.

Primary pulmonary hypertension in babies or anyone else should be taken seriously. Take necessary actions as soon as possible; your future and that of your loved ones may very well be at stake.

By: Nick Johnson

Labels: and hypertension, hypertension, hypertension causes, hypertension is, hypertension symptoms, hypertension treatment, hypertensive, pregnancy hypertension, pulmonary hypertension

After a person has been diagnosed with primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH), he or she is often frightened and confused. Because it is so rare, most people do not know what the symptoms are or expect to get the disease.

Many people have not even heard of primary pulmonary hypertension, and some of those who have are only aware of it because of the television commercials for lawsuits related to it. One of the biggest problems with PPH is that people do not know how a person gets it. There are some assumptions, but there are no guarantees.

It is believed that there might be a genetic disposition to the disease, and that people with certain connective tissue disorders might be at higher risk. One of the possible causes of the disease which has only recently come to light, though, is medication.

It was long believed that conditions like HIV and illegal drugs such as cocaine could cause it in some people, but new evidence has shown that compounds in some popular diet drugs can also foster development of the disease. Most of the primary pulmonary hypertension lawsuits, which are being dealt with today, are due to diet drugs and the dangers that they can cause.

These are the same types of drugs, which caused heart valve defects in many people years ago, and now they are also being linked to PPH, which is also a very serious concern. Some feel that this is even more serious. Heart valves can generally be fixed or replaced, but this disease can cause so much damage that a lung transplant or a heart and lung transplant can be needed.

Most people do not understand PPH symptoms. This is unfortunate, because these symptoms must be noted so that a diagnosis can be made. Only by doing this can PPH be adequately treated. There is no cure for PPH, but there is a way to treat the symptoms so that the patient can feel better and have a better quality of life for a longer period of time. The average PPH patient lives about three years once they are diagnosed, but the length of time a person survives and how well they feel is extremely variable. Some people have only a few months, and others live for many years, some of them doing quite well.

They generally do this by making some lifestyle modifications and by taking PPH medication to help dilate the blood vessels in the lungs so that they receive more oxygen rich blood to the organs and tissues throughout their body. Without doing that, these people will often suffer severe shortness of breath, chest pain, and chronic fatigue, among many other things. Individuals with PPH can struggle with this for some time, and it makes it very difficult for their loved ones as well. The individuals who have to see people they care for slowly deteriorate from PPH often fight their own battles with anxiety, depression, and other issues.

Naturally, if primary pulmonary hypertension is caught quickly, medications can stop the progression of the disease in most people, allowing them to go back to having a basically normal life. Unfortunately, because the symptoms come on slowly in the early stages, and because the symptoms are so similar to other problems, the disease is often not detected until it has already progressed to a very dangerous level.

People with PPH symptoms should be thoroughly checked out by their doctor, and should not give up on medical testing and intervention until they learn for certain whether they have primary pulmonary hypertension or some other condition. Only through this kind of vigilance can it be controlled.

By: Nick Johnson

Labels: and hypertension, hypertension, hypertension causes, hypertension is, hypertension symptoms, hypertension treatment, hypertensive, pregnancy hypertension, pulmonary hypertension

In a recent study, it was determined that antidepressant drugs taken by pregnant women in their 20th week or later caused the frequency of Primary Pulmonary Hypertension in babies to rise.

These studies have raised an alarming dialogue among PPH specialists and other experts in which anti-depressants used by pregnant women can increase the chances of their babies being born with lung problems, specifically Primary Pulmonary Hypertension.

The drugs in question are well known. They include: Celexa, Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft.

Consequently, babies born with Primary Pulmonary Hypertension require immediate assistance in order to breathe. Unfortunately, it is estimated that 10 to 20 percent of these babies will die soon after birth.

Moreover, those born with Primary Pulmonary Hypertension will undoubtedly develop hearing loss, brain abnormalities, and dysfunction in development and seek assistance from a PPH specialist.

Although experts claim the risk of having a child born with Primary Pulmonary Hypertension is very low, women who do take any of these anti-depressants are taking a chance with their unborn. It was also found that women who are still viable to have children, but have depression issues, are more likely to take anti-depressants.

In response to these underlying facts, the FDA concluded that more safety studies were needed, but at the same time, women who do take anti-depressants should not stop due to this report.

But the fact remains that newborns do develop symptoms such as poor eating, seizures, and anxiety. Therefore, one must seek the guidance and assistance of a PPH specialist. One such study reported that 30 per cent of infants exposed to anti-depressants in the womb developed a sugar imbalance, sleep disturbances, and symptoms akin to drug withdrawal.

Consequently, the FDA warned that the use of Paxil during the first trimester is associated with increased risk of birth abnormalities such as cardiac defects. However, it did not end there. According to the Johnson Law Group who practices pharmaceutical litigation in general, and cases relating to Paxil in particular, they discuss the problems of Paxil as a prescribed drug in this way: More than 20 million Americans take antidepressants.

Last year doctors dispensed 150 million prescriptions in the United States, according to IMS Health, a Connecticut-based health care information company. As much as 70 percent of the drugs are prescribed not by psychiatrists but by general practitioners with no special training in complex mental disorders. The overall market for antidepressants in the United States is more than $12.5 billion annually.

Moreover, they proclaim that the FDA alerted health care professionals and patients about new studies suggesting that Paxil increased the risk of birth defects, particularly heart defects, when women took the drug during the first three months of pregnancy. Early results of two studies showed that women who took Paxil during the first three months of pregnancy were about two times more likely to have a baby with a heart defect than women who received other antidepressants or women in the general population.

Most of the heart defects reported in these studies were atrial and ventricular septal defects (holes in the walls of the chambers of the heart). In general, the FDA said, these defects range in severity from those that are minor and may resolve without treatment to those that cause serious problems and may need to be repaired surgically.

That warning was followed with another alert from the FDA in July 2006 that reported that the use of antidepressants by pregnant mothers resulted in babies born with a serious condition called persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPHN). Babies born with PPHN have abnormal blood flow through the heart and lungs and do not get enough oxygen to their bodies. Babies with PPHN can become very sick and possibly even die.

The results of this study, reported by The New England Journal of Medicine, showed that babies born to mothers who took SSRIs, the family of drugs that Paxil belongs to, were six times more likely to have PPHN than babies born to mothers who did not take antidepressants during pregnancy.

In another study, the higher incidence of Primary Pulmonary Hypertension did not occur in women who took non-SSRI antidepressants. These include tricyclics such as Elavil, Wellbutrin, Effexor, and Desyrel. The bottom line is that there is a need for more information about the safety and uses of drugs during pregnancy. Seeking advice from a PPH specialist in consultation with a pediatric doctor may be recommended.

If you have been taking Paxil during pregnancy, and your newborn showed signs of either Primary Pulmonary Hypertension, birth defects or serious illness, it is incumbent upon you to contact a PPH attorney to commence litigation on your behalf. While the loss of a child can never be fully measured in monetary value, you may need to seek compensation for additional medical treatment as a result of this devastating loss.

By: Nick Johnson

Labels: and hypertension, hypertension, hypertension causes, hypertension is, hypertension symptoms, hypertension treatment, hypertensive, pregnancy hypertension, pulmonary hypertension

If you have been experiencing symptoms associated with a lung condition, you most likely have seen a PPH specialist. If a physician has diagnosed you with Primary Pulmonary Hypertension, there are many things to consider, most importantly, the management of Primary Pulmonary Hypertension.

Unfortunately, at the present time, there is no cure for Primary Pulmonary Hypertension. The only treatments the PPH specialist can recommend are a series of drugs and, as a last resort, if your condition worsens, a lung transplant. While your anxiety may understandably become heightened, you have to find the strength to manage this disease.

One of the ways in which you can achieve this is by changing your lifestyle. This would include reducing stress through meditation exercises, and developing a positive attitude. While this may be easy to say, undoubtedly it may be a lot harder to do. But if you are to survive and live a qualitative life, you need to take immediate steps to ensure your state of mind is conducive to healing.

You may be happy to know that individuals with Primary Pulmonary Hypertension still go to work, have a home business, and still take care of their families. In fact, many individuals with PPH show no signs of illness at all, and enjoy most of the time symptom free. The key is not to take on any physical activity wherein you can overdo and not realize it.

In this regard, exercise is good therapy for individuals with PPH. A good 20 minute walk a day can make all the difference in how you feel. Moreover, if you have an advanced case of Primary Pulmonary Hypertension and need oxygen, there are portable systems which you can utilize when you go out. There are also a variety of wheelchairs and scooters which you may have seen on TV, and for which you can utilize them on a daily basis as well.

For those who prefer not to take on activities that are strenuous in nature, there are certainly a plethora of activities that you can become involved in. Whether it's gardening, or joining a local community chapter which engages in morning or afternoon activities, you can certainly fill up your time and keep your mind busy.

For those of you who live in areas where the altitude is high, you may want to move where the oxygen level is higher, thus enabling you to breathe easier. It is also important to keep in contact with your PPH specialist, so that he or she can monitor you and see to your immediate needs.

Another way in which the management of Primary Pulmonary Hypertension can be achieved is through a proper diet regimen. Also, if you are a smoker, now is the time to quit. Ensure you get enough rest; at least 8 hours of sleep a night.

In addition, if you are a woman of child-bearing years, and you have been diagnosed with Primary Pulmonary Hypertension by your PPH specialist, pregnancy is not an option, since it will put an additional load on the heart. Moreover, oral contraceptives are not recommended either and, therefore, other methods of birth control will have to be used.

One of the most important aspects of having Primary Pulmonary Hypertension is to become as informed as possible through your PPH specialist. Having close family and friends with you on this unfortunate journey is important as well. Check your local community to determine if there are PPH support groups. Having the ability to talk to others who have the same condition can be immeasurable.

There is another critical factor in the management of Primary Pulmonary Hypertension, and that is to ascertain how it was caused and what course of action you can take legally. After all, you have every right to sue a company who produced a drug that caused you pain and untold anxiety.

Moreover, if you had to leave your job or take time off, this should be compensated. If you took the drug Fen-Phen, you have legal recourse. Seek a PPH attorney who specializes in this type of litigation, and be sure to take legal action against the company involved.

If you took anti-depressants while pregnant, and your newborn has a lung condition, birth defects, or worse, you also have legal recourse to take this matter up with a PPH attorney.

The management of Primary Pulmonary Hypertension involves every aspect of your life. This includes your on-going treatment, surgery, compensation for lost earnings, punitive damages, and so on. A PPH attorney can help you. More importantly, you must allow yourself the ability to face down the cause of this disease, and live out the rest of your life in peace and tranquility.

By: Nick Johnson

Labels: and hypertension, hypertension, hypertension causes, hypertension is, hypertension symptoms, hypertension treatment, hypertensive, pregnancy hypertension, pulmonary fibrosis, pulmonary hypertension

Idiopathic pulmonary hypertension also called is Pulmonary hypertension Pulmonary hypertension is an abnormal altitude of the pressure in the pulmonary flow caused by the constriction of the blood vessels that supply blood to the lungs. Pulmonary hypertension can be a severe disease with a markedly decreased exercise tolerance and heart failure. Frequency in children as well as adults is not known. Conceivably, more patients have the disease than previously suspected. IPAH occurs at a female-to-male ratio ranging from 2-9:1, depending on the treatment center sampled.

The worldwide incidence of Idiopathic pulmonary hypertension approximates that observed in the United States. Pulmonary hypertension may be caused by a genetic defect, confident diet medications, or medical conditions such as lung or heart valve disease or history of a blood clot in the lung. Various triggers, such as high altitude, hypoxemia, toxins, sympathetic tone, and autoimmune disorders, can cause pulmonary vasoconstriction in susceptible individuals. Symptoms may develop very gradually. Shortness of breath and dizziness are symptoms of pulmonary hypertension.

Treatment involves of Idiopathic pulmonary hypertension diuretics, blood thinners, calcium channel blockers, and using supplemental oxygen to increase blood oxygen levels. Medicines used to treat pulmonary hypertension include ambrisentan (Letairis), bosentan, calcium channel blockers, diuretics and prostacyclin Prostacyclin (prostaglandin I2) is commonly considered the most effective treatment for PAH. Treprostinil (Remodulin) can be given intravenously or subcutaneously, but the subcutaneous form can be very painful. If treatment with medications fails, suitable candidates may be helped by lung or heart-lung transplant.

High dose calcium channel blockers are useful in only 5% of IPAH patients who are vasoreactive by Swan-Ganz catheter. Use digoxin therapy to improve right ventricular function in patients with right ventricular failure. Use diuretics to manage peripheral edema. The use of loop diuretics requires potassium supplementation and close monitoring of serum potassium. Potassium-sparing diuretics may have a role in ameliorating the sometimes-intractable hypokalemia observed with daily diuretic use. Patients taking warfarin must limit their intake of vitamin K–containing foods, such as green leafy and coliform vegetables.

By: Juliet Cohen

Labels: and hypertension, hypertension, hypertension causes, hypertension is, hypertension symptoms, hypertension treatment, hypertensive, pregnancy hypertension, pulmonary hypertension