Some types of PH can be prevented by early
diagnosis and treatment of other medical conditions:
For example:
- In patients with lung disease, diagnosis
of low oxygen levels in the blood and
appropriate treatment
with oxygen may prevent PH
- In patients born
with defects of the heart (also known
as congenital heart disease), early
diagnosis of the defect, such as during childhood, and
surgical repair of the defect may prevent
PH in the future
- In patients with pulmonary embolism, effective
treatment with blood thinners (also
known as anti-coagulants) may prevent PH
In many other types of PH, there is presently
no way to prevent PH. These types of PH include:
- Idiopathic PAH
(previously known as PPH)
- Familial or inherited
PAH (FPAH)
- PAH associated with connective
tissue disease (such as scleroderma),
HIV infection, cirrhosis
of the liver