Pulmonary Vascular Disease Central

• The most common forms of pulmonary vascular disease, which includes conditions that affect blood vessels in the lungs, are pulmonary hypertension, including pulmonary arterial hypertension, and pulmonary emboli.
• Several conditions, such as COPD, PE and sickle cell disease, can cause pulmonary hypertension, but the most common cause in the United States is left heart disease.
• Both  pulmonary hypertension and PE are difficult to diagnose, which can prove fatal in some cases. PAH caught too late, for instance, can lead to heart failure or death.
• There is no cure for PAH, but several treatment options exist to manage the condition, including lifestyle changes, medication or surgery.
• PAH can occur in people of all ages, including children, although it is most common in women, Black individuals and those aged 75 years or older.
• People who experience a severe COVID-19 infection are at increased risk for PE, which is often caused by deep vein thrombosis.
• CDC estimates suggest that 60,000 to 100,000 people in the United States die of DVT or PE, with 10% to 30% dying within 1 month of diagnosis.
• Approximately one out of three people with undiagnosed and untreated PE die.
• Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension — a rare and progressive form of pulmonary vascular disease — is caused by blood clots that last for 3 months or longer despite blood thinners.
• Treatments for CTEPH include pulmonary thromboendarterectomy, percutaneous balloon pulmonary angioplasty, double lung transplant and medication.

References:

American Lung Association. Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Available at: https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/pulmonary-arterial-hypertension. Accessed May 20, 2021.

CDC. Pulmonary Hypertension. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/pulmonary_hypertension.htm. Accessed May 20, 2021.

CDC. Data and statistics on venous thromboembolism. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/dvt/data.html. Accessed May 24, 2021.

Cleveland Clinic. Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). Available at: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17635-chronic-thromboembolic-pulmonary-hypertension-cteph. Accessed May 14, 2021.

European Lung Foundation. Pulmonary vascular disease. Available at: https://europeanlung.org/en/information-hub/lung-conditions/pulmonary-vascular-disease/. Accessed May 20, 2021.

NIH National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Pulmonary hypertension. Available at: https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/pulmonary-hypertension. Accessed May 25, 2021