Has anyone worked with some who was diagnosed with Pulmonary Hypertension. What is the quality of life?
September 21st, 2008 | by Pressurized |Russ K asked:
I was diagnosed with a Pulmonary embolism last Dec. after having ankle surgery. I formed a DVT in my left leg that broke off into my left lung. My echocardiogram has revealed a possible increase in my Pulmonary Arterey. They are ordering further testing. They also have done a sleep study but I do not know the results at this time. I am very tired, hard to concentrate, short term memory is really suffering. My chest hurts alot the time, soreness in my arms, legs and neck with headaches when all of this occurs. I have read articles on the internet about PH, but I am looking for a observation of someone who works with people PH or knows someone with it.
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I was diagnosed with a Pulmonary embolism last Dec. after having ankle surgery. I formed a DVT in my left leg that broke off into my left lung. My echocardiogram has revealed a possible increase in my Pulmonary Arterey. They are ordering further testing. They also have done a sleep study but I do not know the results at this time. I am very tired, hard to concentrate, short term memory is really suffering. My chest hurts alot the time, soreness in my arms, legs and neck with headaches when all of this occurs. I have read articles on the internet about PH, but I am looking for a observation of someone who works with people PH or knows someone with it.
Samsung Plasma TV
2 Responses to “Has anyone worked with some who was diagnosed with Pulmonary Hypertension. What is the quality of life?”
By Ava on Sep 24, 2008 | Reply
First of all, I assure you that you have been very lucky to have recovered from a pulmonary embolism. This is usually fatal with delayed treatment. This is often an unwanted complication after surgical procedures due to immobility, or long airplane trips with minimal leg movement, or some other problems with increased coagulability.
If you have been diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension secondary to the embolism, your symptoms are consistent with the expected. However, with the proper treatment and management, you should be getting back to your former quality of life, assuming that your heart has not decompensated because of the condition.
You see, the effect of pulmonary hypertension is ultimately increased workload for your heart because it has to pump against an increased pressure in the lungs, where the embolus was. That’s why some of the meds that you will be prescribed will address that potential problem of the heart: to increase its contractility to overcome the resistance, to decrease the symptoms of congestion, and to prevent against irregular hearbeats.
All your symptoms point to the difficulty of your heart to pump blood to your organs: neurologic problems like dec concentration, short term memory impairment, chest pains because of the extra work your heart has to do.
The immediate treatment is to lyse the embolus if they haven’t done it yet. I assume that’s why you’re having more tests. For your part, you can intersperse moments of rest periods with activity. If the embolism can be lysed and your heart has no permanent effects from it, you should be getting your previous activity level back. Good luck!
By Fern on Sep 24, 2008 | Reply
As an RN student I was able to work with a pt with pulmonary htn. She was an 80 something yr old lady who was unable to walk. SHe could barely move because she would loose her breath. She was a bit obese, so it took two of us to move her. pulmonary htn is not pretty.