Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin are home to the only academic Pulmonary Hypertension Program in the state. Our exceptional, board-certified physicians and their provider team are dedicated to improving the quality of life for individuals affected by pulmonary hypertension.
What is Pulmonary Hypertension?
Pulmonary Hypertension is high blood pressure in the lungs. Normal lungs have a blood pressure that is only one-sixth of that in the rest of the body.
Pulmonary hypertension occurs when the small blood vessels that supply blood to the lungs become thicker, constrict and sometimes become plugged. This results in increased pressure in lung vessels that makes the heart work harder to pump blood through the lungs. Because the heart and lungs are closely connected, increased pressure in the lungs eventually causes the heart to become enlarged and weak. As this occurs, the heart becomes inefficient and pumps less blood through the lungs and to the body, contributing to the symptoms of pulmonary hypertension.
What are the symptoms of pulmonary hypertension?
The symptoms of pulmonary hypertension include:
- shortness of breath with minimal activity
- fatigue or tiredness
- chest pain
- dizzy spells
- fainting leg swelling (edema)
Pulmonary hypertension is often diagnosed late and may have progressed to an advanced stage by the time it is identified. Pulmonary hypertension has been viewed by many to be a chronic condition that is incurable. However, new treatments and continued research are giving specialists the tools to make patients feel better and live longer.
Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin Pulmonary Hypertension Program
Pulmonary hypertension is an uncommon, but very serious disease. In general, most physicians do not have the specialty and subspecialty expertise in treating this complex disease. Therefore, it is important for patients to have access to disease-specific physicians.
The Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin Pulmonary Hypertension Program offers consultative and continuing care services, diagnostic testing, and treatment both on an outpatient and inpatient basis. Our board-certified pulmonary and cardiology physicians and specially trained staff first evaluate patients.
Then they develop an individualized treatment program and monitor the patient frequently. In addition, as an academic medical center, Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin are well suited to address related conditions that affect the lung blood vessels, such as recurrent blood clots to the lungs, liver disease-related lung problems, late presentation of congenital heart disease (such as atrial septal defects), sleep apnea, and arteriovenous malformations.