To be honest, we didnt get to Disney World until Thursday!!......(grin) Okay, pulmonary hypertension......there are two vasculatures in the body, the systemic one is the one most people think of.....the circulation that takes oxygen-loaded blood from the heart to the body and returns it to the heart for more oxygen. Thats the blood pressure (BP) that they measure in your arm......(smile) Therere also the arteries that carry blood from the heart to the lungs to get oxygen and then back to the heart. The only way to get a reading of that BP is to actually go into the heart and measure it IN the pulmonary arteries.........Okay, TMI? (grin) SO my cardiologist sent me to my pulmonologist last May because he wanted to rule out a lung problem before doing another heart cath which is somewhat invasive....because my cardiomyopathy seemed to be stable right now, but my shortness of breath was getting SO much worse..............okay, down through the summer and the move and another right and left heart cath here in Orlando with normal pulmonary pressures.........normal lung function, but with exertion my O2 saturation drops severely, so oxygen therapy.......So my cardiologist sent me to Shands. Okay, the specialist cardiologist there made me exercise DURING that right heart cath..........yes, get the picture.........lying flat on my back, catheter entrance in my neck........Im draped completely, can see through about an inch opening towards my left side and two techs are holding a little peddle apparatus on the gurney and Im peddling as fast as I can.......(grin)..........AND they found it! When I am at rest the pressure in my pulmonary arteries is good, but with any exertion the pressure rises dramatically.......so they started upping my meds and adding a new one........and I started feeling SO much better. Okay, back to my cardiologist last week.........(smile)and I asked him, first if pulmonary hypertension is a heart problem or a lung problem and he said its sort of both......(grin).......and lastly I asked him...........if I have relatively stable heart function and normal lung function, where did this come from? And he looked at me and said I have no idea.........(grin) I still have dilated cardiomyopathy but now I also have pulmonary hypertension and I may never get to be away from an oxygen cannula.........but I WILL have more good days.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Nov 2014 01:28:36 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015