Symptoms of PAH include:
These symptoms may not be identified as being related to PAH at first because they can be related to other, more common conditions. By the time symptoms are recognized, PAH may have been developing for some time.
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is high blood pressure occurring in the arteries of the lungs (the pulmonary arteries). Your pulmonary arteries transport blood from the right side of your heart to your lungs, where the blood picks up oxygen needed for physical activity. After passing through your lungs, blood returns to the left side of your heart, from which it is pumped to the rest of your body.
If you have PAH, narrowed pulmonary arteries prevent blood from easily passing through your lungs. As a result, blood pressure rises inside your pulmonary arteries, and the right ventricle of your heart must pump harder to compensate. Over time, this extra work weakens your heart, and it gradually loses its ability to pump as much blood as your body needs.
