What is Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH)?

• Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a simplified name for a complex health problem- continuous high blood pressure in the pulmonary artery in the lungs, resulting in an enlarged heart which can also lose its ability to pump.
• It is a disease that affects people of all ages and ethnic backgrounds although some people are more prone to developing PAH.
• PAH is broken down into two main categories:
• IPAH which occurs as a separate entity, either sporadically or due to genetic inheritance.
• SPAH which occurs as part of other illnesses including scleroderma, sickle cell anemia, lupus, chronic liver disease, and HIV – or use of diet drugs such as Fen-phen.