Pulmonary Hypertension Health Video

Pulmonary hypertension is a build up of high pressure in the lungs. Learn more about pulmonary hypertension and how to treat it in this medical video.

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Try medications
Can involve lung transplantation
Contact a doctor

About this Author

Dr. Jeffrey Michel earned his medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas. He completed his internship and residency programs in Internal Medicine at the Parkland and Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center Hospitals through the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas. Dr. Michel completed his Cardiology fellowship at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, through the Harvard Medical School. Dr. Michel is a former Sarnoff Fellow, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Michel is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in Internal Medicine and Cardiovascular Disease. He is trained in general cardiology, and has special training in noninvasive imaging and cardiovascular research. Dr, Michel has a special interest in CT angiography. Dr. Michel is a former Assistant Consulting Professor of Medicine at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. He is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and a Fellow of the Sarnoff Endowment for Cardiovascular Research. Dr. Michel is a member of the Travis County Medical Society and the Texas Medical Association.

JEFFREY MICHEL, MD: Hi. My name is Dr. Jeffrey Michel. I'm in Austin, Texas and I'm here to talk to you today about pulmonary hypertension. Pulmonary hypertension means two things. Pulmonary means the lungs, hypertension means high pressure. High pressure in the lungs is similar to the disease that affects high blood pressure in the rest of the body. However, in pulmonary hypertension, the high pressure is only in the lungs and it affects primarily the heart and other organs downstream from the high pressure. Pulmonary hypertension is relatively uncommon but when it occurs, it can be a life threatening illness. It can be treated with medications and it can be treated by finding the underlying cause of the high pressure. But sometimes it requires significant treatments such as lung transplantation. If you have pulmonary hypertension, you might experience shortness of breath, fatigue, or lack of energy. You might also experience swelling in your legs and swelling in your belly. If you have pulmonary hypertension or think you might, you need the care of a physician. While pulmonary hypertension is unusual and not common, it can be life threatening and is a serious condition.