low blood sugar. Maybe you’re simply stressed, or there was some sudden and severe change in the weather.
But did you know pulmonary hypertension often triggers lightheadedness and even fainting? This happens because the tension of your lung’s arteries is causing a lack of oxygenated blood. When you lack oxygenated blood, your brain is deprived, and you’ll feel it!
4. Malnutrition
Although the exact causes are not fully understood, we can think of them practically. Consider your blood for a moment. Your bloodstream is essentially your lifestream. After all, your blood carries oxygen and nutrients to all the corners of your body. Without that, you can’t live.
But what happens if your blood is not in good condition? If your arteries are narrowed and your heart is working harder to pump, you might not be absorbing all the nutrients you need. As a result, you may experience malnutrition.
This is one reason doctors use IVs to provide patients with pulmonary hypertension with the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients they need.
5. Swelling of Legs, Ankles, and Abdomen
You might not think of swelling in your legs and ankles when you think of issues with your lungs, but it turns out that hypertension in your lungs can be linked to all sorts of remote issues. One of those is swelling caused by fluid build-up.
What causes this exactly?
One of the reasons is that blood gets ‘backed up.’ This happens because your arteries are narrowed and the blood is unpumped. When this happens, fluid can leak into your tissues, and eventually (thanks to gravity), may extend to your extremities.
In some cases, you may experience other symptoms that are even less common. One reason for this may be a unique and extremely rare form of pulmonary hypertension called chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH).
What Is CTEPH?
If you have CTEPH, you will experience very high blood pressure in very tiny blood vessels in your lungs. If you have a history of blood clots it’s always a good idea to be screened for CTEPH. This condition is most common in females and may be more likely due to preexisting conditions, like certain cancers, inflammatory diseases, heart infections, and thyroid dysfunction.
The symptoms are similar to those associated with pulmonary hypertension in general.
Speak with your doctor. Tests like lung ventilation scans and pulmonary function tests can help detect it. While you can take medication to treat it, in some cases, you may require surgery to remove the blood clots. Your physician can narrow your options and help you find the most effective treatment for your case. In some cases, the blood-clot surgery, called pulmonary endarterectomy, can cure you!