Overview

Pulmonary Hypertension

The term pulmonary hypertension (PH) refers to high blood pressure in the blood vessels that carry blood to the lungs. PH is a rare disease. About 1 in 100 people in the world have it. Before starting treatment, your care team must clearly determine the cause of the PH. PH weakens the heart over time. It causes patients to feel out of breath with minimal activity. It can lead to heart failure and death.

• In regular hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, the arteries throughout the body are narrowed.
• PH affects only the blood vessels in the lungs and the right side of the heart.

PH makes the heart work harder to pump blood into the lungs. One or more of these conditions can lead to PH:

• Disease of the pulmonary arteries
• Left heart failure
• Lung disease
• A blood clot in the lungs

The Northwestern Medicine Pulmonary Hypertension Program offers a full range of services for patients with PH, including a comprehensive patient evaluation, diagnostic testing, advanced treatment options, clinical research and patient education.

Our program is honored to have received national recognition from the Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) as a designated PHA-accredited Center for Comprehensive Care. Criteria for this esteemed designation emphasize the experienced staff, comprehensive facility resources, evaluations of patients with PH based upon consensus guidelines, access to all PH-specific therapies, overall experience in treating PH and participation in clinical research.