A young man with a serious illness struggles with a tube in his heart

World Pulmonary Hypertension Day on May 5 is traditionally commemorated by blue-lit important buildings in Prague, Brno and Olomouc. In the metropolis, for example, the Dancing House shines, in Brno the Janáček Theater, the Goose on a String Theater, and in Olomouc the Town Hall on Horní Square. Blue because patients’ blood is often insufficiently oxygenated, which is manifested, among other things, by the blue coloration of the lips.

At first neither Martin, now twenty-three, nor his parents paid too much attention to the more frequent shortness of breath in childhood. They noticed when the promising athlete had to stop every hundred meters and could not even climb the stairs. At the end of the carousel of examinations, Martin heard the diagnosis, with which he still struggles. “I was about eight years old when we first started to solve my problems with the doctors. At first they suspected asthma, but we soon moved to the cardiology department, where I first heard the diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension,” recalls Martin.

Pulmonary hypertension is a disease in which the blood pressure in the lungs increases. This leads to excessive strain on the right ventricle of the heart, which gradually enlarges and can gradually fail. At the same time, the blood is insufficiently oxygenated, which is why patients suffer from shortness of breath, fatigue or dizziness and fainting.

Minerals that play a key role in maintaining blood pressure levels

Health

At the children’s hospital, doctors inserted a catheter into the boy’s heart from a pump that dispenses medicine directly into the pulmonary vessels. Thanks to this, he was able to return to life relatively quickly. “Hockey was of course over, I also finished tennis. It took a few years before I got to a state where I felt completely normal and could play sports again,” he says.

He got used to life with a tube in his heart quite quickly. So did his parents, who had to learn how to properly mix and dose the medicine, without which his condition would start to deteriorate again. “Of course, growing up wasn’t entirely pleasant, I couldn’t do what others did, like going to camps or schools in nature. My parents were worried about me and I had to be supervised or they had to ride with me,” he recalls.

He later went on to study filmmaking through secondary electrical engineering school. “God knows what I would be doing now if it weren’t for pulmonary hypertension. But it’s true that during various hospitalizations I watched a lot of movies, and even later I was drawn to them, that’s why I started working as a lighting engineer and later a cameraman,” the young man thinks, adding that the disease does not limit him in anything.

“I can study, but also play sports or travel. At the moment, the disease is stabilized, it is not getting any worse, and most of the time I don’t even know about it,” he adds.

Doctors most often discover the disease as a complication of another heart and lung disease. It can be caused by autoimmune diseases or pulmonary embolism. “With pulmonary hypertension, there is an increased strain on the right ventricle of the heart, which gradually increases. This can lead to its gradual failure. At the same time, the blood is insufficiently oxygenated, which is why patients suffer from shortness of breath, fatigue or dizziness and fainting,” stated Pavel Jansa, cardiologist from II. internal clinics – cardiology and angiology clinics of the General University Hospital and the 1st Faculty of Medicine of the University of Prague in Prague. According to him, swelling of the ankles and feet is a common but late symptom.

Because the disease is relatively rare, according to Jansa, doctors only consider this option among the last. “The treatment of the disease in an advanced stage is much more complicated, so it is important to arrive at a diagnosis as soon as possible,” he noted. If the shortness of breath cannot be explained by another disease, the patient should undergo an ultrasound of the heart and then visit specialists. This is also why the recommended procedures for the treatment of severe asthma and the recommended procedures for chronic thromboembolic lung disease for general practitioners have recently been updated.

In recent years, thanks to the functioning system of referring workplaces, doctors have observed not only increasing numbers of diagnosed patients with pulmonary hypertension in adults, but also patients in adolescent or childhood age. “In the last year, in cooperation with pediatric cardiologists, we have started treatment for several children. Current therapy, especially early therapy, offers a great chance of significantly improving the difficulties and prognosis of small and large patients,” assures Jansa.

A number of promising studies have also started with modern medicinal products that help reduce pressure in the lungs. “We are also making progress in the field of treatment of pulmonary hypertension after pulmonary embolism, where, in addition to surgical treatment, mini-invasive catheterization and pharmacotherapy are being used significantly. Thanks to this, we were able to significantly reduce the death rate from this disease, but above all to extend the quality of life for patients,” he added. Compared to twenty years ago, according to him, doctors have absolutely unprecedented means in their hands.

Three specialized centers for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension operate in the Czech Republic: II. internal clinic – cardiology and angiology clinic of the General University Hospital in Prague, IKEM Cardiology Clinic and I. internal clinic – cardiology, FN Olomouc.

The most common factors behind a higher risk of early onset dementia

Health