Pulmonary Hypertension Research Paper

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Pages: 4

Pulmonary Hypertension is a respiratory disorder that affects the heart and lungs. It is a progressive disease and a person with this disorder may not know they have it until months or years of developing it, which causes life long issues since they can not treat it right away. The Mayo Clinic defines the most common form of pulmonary hypertension, as when the pulmonary arterioles and capillaries become narrowed, blocked, or destroyed which makes it harder for blood to flow through the lungs, and this raises pressure within the lungs' arteries. As the pressure rises, the heart's right ventricle must work harder to pump blood through the lungs, which causes the heart muscle to struggle and fail and the lungs struggle to breathe.

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My friend was diagnosed after a simple gym class activity was difficult for her. She was sent to the nurse's office where the nurse said she should get a further observation of it from a doctor. When doctors test for PAH, the only way to accurately diagnose PAH is with a test called cardiac catheterization. When getting a cardiac catheterization test, a thin tube called a catheter, is inserted into a major vein in the groin or neck and then inserted into the pulmonary artery, where the pulmonary arterial pressure is …show more content…
An atrial septostomy is a procedure where a small hole is made in the wall between the left and right atria of the heart. The hole can be made using a cardiac catheter mentioned above. Atrial septostomy reduces the pressure in the right side of the heart,and allows the heart to pump more effectively which helps blood flow to the lungs. A transplant of the lungs which my friend received is very beneficial to the quality of life however transplant surgery is a high-risk operation which can result in issues, like organ rejection and infection. Usually transplanted lungs from a donor do not last a recipient the rest of their lives and they are required to be on numerous steroids and eventually many need another transplant in the future. My friend’s lungs started to fail 6 years after her transplant and because of that she needed to have a tracheostomy which should last her until she is strong enough to be put on a new transplant list. A tracheostomy is a surgical procedure which cuts an opening into the trachea so that a tube can be inserted into the opening to assist breathing with the help of extra oxygen from an oxygen tank, or