If an Alpha develops severe lung disease, he/she may also develop a problem with their heart known as pulmonary hypertensionPulmonary hypertension is high blood pressure in the blood vessels that carry blood to your lungs.. Pulmonary hypertensionPulmonary hypertension is high blood pressure in the blood vessels that carry blood to your lungs. is when the blood pressure within the lungs is too high. It places strain on the right side of the heart which can cause right heart failure if it progresses. Pulmonary hypertensionPulmonary hypertension is high blood pressure in the blood vessels that carry blood to your lungs. is caused by two problems in patients with advancing emphysemaObstructive airway disease in which the walls of the alveoli (air sacs) are damaged or destroyed.. First, the lung damage causes injury to the small blood vessels (capillaries). Second, low oxygen levels cause the blood vessels in the lungs to constrict. Both problems in the Alpha-1 related lung disease contribute to pulmonary hypertensionPulmonary hypertension is high blood pressure in the blood vessels that carry blood to your lungs.. Therefore, ensuring adequate oxygenation is an important component to the therapy plan in Alpha-1. The good news is that these problems will resolve after lung transplantation.
Alpha-1-To-One, Winter 2018
Steven R. Hays, MD
Professor of medicine in the Division of PulmonaryMedical term referring to the lungs., Critical Care, Allergy and Sleep Medicine, and medical director of the Advanced Lung Disease and Lung Transplant Program of the University of California, San Fransisco (USCF).
