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Posted by Elizabeth on April 13, 1999 at 10:21:39 I am trying to get a picture of what might be done for pulmonary hypertension. I have lupus, pericarditis with a small amount of fluid around the heart, and pulmonary hypertension with a systolic pressure of 37. Lung scans, ECG negative. Pulmonary function tests and further X-rays scheduled this week. Symptoms quite strong with persistant chest burning, and shortness of breath, sometimes even at rest, or especially when talking.
Can mild pericarditis cause PH?
What other specific causes could there be?
What tests should be pursued?
Is a Respirologist the person to see?
Does mild PH lead in one direction? I can find very little information about mild PH.
What treatments work?
While I wait for answers is there anything that can be done for the burning chest and shortness of breath? I am on Plaquenil, was on NSAID, but am now on prednisone. Nothing seems to affect how my chest feels. Thankyou for your help.
Posted by CCF CARDIO MD-APS on April 14, 1999 at 10:33:27Dear Elisabeth,
There is no cure for pulmonary hypertension and the treatments are not tremendously (at least long term) successful. However, you state that you have mild pulmonary hypertension which does not cause so much shortness of breath.
So the tests that you need to go through include ruling out other causes of shortness of breath as well as looking for and eliminating any potential causes of the pulmonary hypertension (so as to prevent it from progressing.) It sounds as if some of those tests are already in progress.
Your chest pain is likely from the pericarditis, but possibly (unlikey) from the pulmonary hypertension. Regardless it is very difficult to treat.
In the many potential causes of pulmonary hypertension, pericarditis is one, drugs (?plaquenil) is another, cardiac abnormalities (structural and otherwise), idiopathic (cause unknown), and pulmonary occlusive disease (clots) are all possibilites.
A pulmonologist and cardiologist are the doctors that you need to see in your evaluation as such. I hope this information is useful. Information provided in the heart forum is for
general purposes only. Only your physician can provided specific diagnoses and therapies.
Feel free to write back with further questions. Good luck! If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please
call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at
www.ccf.org/heartcenter. The Heart Center website contains a directory of the
cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your
cardiac problem.
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