Causes and Diagnoses

Causes and Diagnoses of Pulmonary Hypertension

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) can be caused by many different heart and lung disorders. The cause is not always clear.

Common causes of PH include:

• Congenital heart disease
• Connective tissue disease
• Coronary artery disease
• High blood pressure
• Liver disease
• Blood clots in the lungs
• Emphysema
• Genetics

There are five different groups of pulmonary hypertension:

• Group 1: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)
• Group 2: PH due to left-sided heart disease
• Group 3: PH due to lung disease and/or hypoxia (low oxygen in body tissues)
• Group 4: PH due to blockages in the pulmonary artery, including chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH)
• Group 5: PH with unknown and/or more than one cause

Diagnosing and Testing for Pulmonary Hypertension

If your care team thinks you may have PH, they will do a physical exam. They will listen to your heart and check your blood pressure.

Based on your symptoms, they may order any of the following tests:

• Blood tests
• Electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG)
• Echocardiogram
• Stress test
• Chest X-ray
• CT scan
• Heart catheterization
• Pulmonary function tests
• Perfusion lung scan