Pulmonary hypertension is a disease of obstructed blood flow through the lung. Pulmonary arterial hypertension is a specific form of pulmonary hypertension where the lung blood vessels are occluded. The symptoms of this disease are shortness of breath, fluid retention in the legs and other parts of the body, and lightheadedness with exertion.
Why pulmonary arterial hypertension occurs in some people is not very clear. Pulmonary arterial hypertension is considered to be a rare disease. It can occur on its own (idiopathic), or due to other conditions such as autoimmune disease, liver disease, or infections with HIV or a parasitic infection, schistosomiasis. There are medications available to improve the flow of blood through the lung, which primarily work through relaxing the blood vessels (vasodilators) but do not relieve the obstruction.
It is thought that inflammation caused by the body's immune system contributes to the lung blood vessel disease. How this occurs exactly and what are the parts of the immune system that causes the vessel disease are not well understood.
This is a lung blood vessel from a patient that died of schistosomiasis pulmonary arterial hypertension, stained with picrosirus red. This image shows thickening of the vessel wall, and significant fibrosis around the blood vessel.
This is another lung blood vessel from a patient who died of schistosomiasis pulmonary arterial hypertension, stained with picrosirus red, and imaged using polarized light. This approach identifies fibrosis as the bright orange material, which is much thicker than a normal blood vessel.
If you or someone you know has pulmonary hypertension, and you want to learn more or see a provider, you can visit the Pulmonary Hypertension Association which has more information and a directory of specialists in the United States.