Pulmonary Hypertension Treatment

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Tired, out of breath, feeling dizzy – the symptoms could mean you're not getting enough oxygen. Pulmonary hypertension could be the cause. This heart and lung condition keeps you from getting enough oxygen. And it can get worse over time.

Here, you can get help from experts. The Pulmonary Hypertension Association named our Pulmonary Hypertension Center as a Center of Comprehensive Care. We offer the full range of treatments for your chronic condition.

    Pulmonary Hypertension Treatment at UVA Health

    At UVA Health, we'll put together a personal plan of action for your treatment. Pulmonary hypertension doesn't have a cure. But we can help you feel better and slow down how fast the disease gets worse.

    It might take some time to find the best treatment for you. You might also need to make some lifestyle changes.

    If we can pin down what's causing your pulmonary hypertension, we'll treat that too.

    As a Center of Comprehensive Care for Pulmonary Hypertension, we offer:

    • An experienced team of heart and lung care experts 
    • Specialists, like rheumatologists, genetic counselors, infectious disease, and palliative care experts, who work closely with your care team
    • State-of-the-art treatments, including lung transplants 
    • Ways to join clinical trials doing research

    Treatments include:

    • Medicine to help symptoms or treat what's causing it
    • Surgery that lowers pressure in your heart

    If medicine and lifestyle changes aren't enough, we can also offer a lung transplant.

    Because pulmonary hypertension is a chronic disease (can't be cured), most people keep working with their doctors and nurses for their whole life.

    Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension (CTEPH)

    We're one of the only centers in the U.S. with the knowledge and tools needed to spot a rare form of pulmonary hypertension called chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). We're also one of the few hospitals to offer surgery to fix it (pulmonary thromboendarterectomy).

    We've been named a certified Center of Comprehensive Care for Pulmonary Hypertension by the Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA).

    Pulmonary Hypertension Treatment

    Pulmonary hypertension is when high blood pressure in your lungs and heart makes it harder to get oxygen into your blood. That can cause some serious conditions. View pulmonary hypertension transcript.

    What Is Pulmonary Hypertension?

    Pulmonary hypertension happens when blood pressure in your lungs gets too high. That makes it harder for the right side of your heart to do it's job. The right side works with your lungs to put oxygen into your blood. 

    Pulmonary hypertension symptoms include:

    • Trouble breathing
    • Chest pain or tightness
    • Feeling dizzy or faint
    • Swollen belly
    • Swollen ankle
    • Fatigue

    Pulmonary hypertension can be caused by other health conditions like: 

    • Sarcoidosis 
    • HIV/AIDS
    • Connective tissue disorders
    • Portal hypertension
    • Congenital heart disease
    • Drug or toxin-induced hypertension
    • Interstitial lung disease
    • Liver disease
    • Portal hypertension
    • Inherited diseases or other disease processes