Pulmonary Hypertension - Causes - Causes

Gene mutations are found in some people who have a family history of pulmonary arterial hypertension. Mutations are also found often in patients who do not have a family history.

Many medical conditions can cause pulmonary hypertension. One type of pulmonary hypertension—called pulmonary arterial hypertension—is caused by conditions that result in narrowing of the pulmonary arteries themselves, such as scleroderma or HIV. Narrowed blood vessels can increase blood pressure in the lungs.

Medical conditions that can cause pulmonary hypertension include:

• blood clots in the lungs, called pulmonary embolism, a type of venous thromboembolism (VTE)
• Chronic exposure to high altitude
• Chronic kidney failure
• Congenital heart defects or congenital narrowing of the pulmonary arteries
• Connective tissue diseases, such as scleroderma
• HIV
• Infection with parasites, such as schistosomiasis or Echinococcus, which are tapeworms
• Left heart diseases, such as left heart failure, which may be caused by high blood pressure throughout your body or ischemic heart disease; and heart valve diseases, such as aortic stenosis and mitral valve disease
• Liver diseases, such as cirrhosis, that lead to higher-than-normal blood pressures in the liver
• Lung diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), interstitial lung disease, or sleep apnea
• Metabolic disorders, such as thyroid disorders or Gaucher disease
• Sarcoidosis
• Sickle cell disease
• tumors in the lungs

• Treatment will discuss medicines and procedures that your doctors may recommend if you are diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension.