Treating Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension with Cialis
New uses for existing drugs are discovered every year. These drugs help us treat many incurable conditions, so let’s look at the case of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension and one of the better treatment options available.
Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension is a condition that comes about when one has abnormally high blood pressure in the lung’s arteries; as a result of the blood pressure problem, the right side of the heart is worked excessively, potentially resulting in the heart’s failure. In many cases, Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension can be fatal.
Causes
There are many causes, though mostly it involves the small arteries of the lung narrowing. Normally, the blood in the right side of the heart pumps blood to the lungs at a lower pressure than the left side of the heart pumps blood to the body. However, with smaller arteries, the blood pressure to the lungs must increase and thus the right side of the heart becomes overworked. This may cause the right side of the heart to grow overly large. Ultimately, the heart will fail to function.
Hypertension numbers among its causes:
- Lung disease
- Heart disease
- Genetic defects
- Blood clots in the lungs
- Sleep apnea
- HIV
- Autoimmune diseases
- Low blood-oxygen levels
A number of medications, specifically diet medications, may also cause Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension. There may be other causes as well. If it is unknown what has causes the hypertension, it is “simply” called idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension.
Symptoms
- Pain in the front of the chest
- Dizziness
- Weakness
- Fatigue
- Swelling in the legs
- Shortness of breath and light headed feeling when exercising
- Fainting
Treatment
Preventative medicine is key: blood thinners to prevent clots or avoiding having unprotected sex to limit the risk of contracting HIV. Treat the underlying condition is also essential. So, if you stop the sleep apnea then you might stop the hypertension. In these cases where a medicine or medical condition causes Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension, it is called Secondary Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.
Diagnosis
Most commonly, a doctor will check, tipped off by your symptoms, for a number of signs during a physical examination. They might feel a pulse over the breastbone or listen for heart murmur. They will check to see if the legs, liver, or spleen are swollen. Finally, if they cannot hear the abnormal sound of the heart, they will check to make sure neck veins are not swollen.
From here, they will do all sorts of scans and XRAYs to confirm and see how bad the problem is.
Using Cialis as Treatment
It’s a new and more promising treatment these days to lower the stress on the right side of the heart by using Cialis, which is normally known as a treatment for erectile dysfunction. The problem is often a Phosphodiesterase Type 5 (PDE5) imbalance. If you can lower the PDE5 levels, this will reduce the constriction of the blood vessels, specifically those of the lungs, and ease the burden of the right ventricle of the heart. Cialis is a PDE5 inhibitor, so is of great use in treating Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.