How to improve mild pulmonary hypertension

When pulmonary hypertension occurs, you must pay attention to reasonable conditioning and improvement. No matter whether it is mild or severe, only scientific treatment can reduce and lower the harm. Patients should exercise appropriately, avoid high altitudes, and pay attention to preventing infection.

1. Adjust your daily physical activities appropriately. It is not clear whether physical activity can slow the development of pulmonary hypertension, but the intensity of physical activity should be appropriate for patients without experiencing symptoms (such as dyspnea, syncope, and chest pain), and activities should be avoided after meals and in high or low temperatures. Appropriate adjustments to daily activities can improve quality of life and reduce the occurrence of symptoms.

2. Avoid going to high altitude areas. Hypoxia can aggravate pulmonary vasoconstriction in patients with pulmonary hypertension. The altitude of 1500 to 2000 meters is a mild low-pressure hypoxic area. Therefore, patients should be advised to avoid such areas. The environment on commercial aircraft is similar to that at an altitude of 1,500 to 2,500 meters, and patients should be advised to use oxygen while on board.

3. Prevent infection. Patients with pulmonary hypertension are prone to lung infections and have poor tolerance. Pneumonia accounts for 7% of total causes of death, so early diagnosis and active treatment are necessary. Influenza and pneumococcal vaccines are recommended. Patients who receive continuous prostacyclin via an intravenous catheter should be alert to catheter infection if they develop persistent fever.

4. Hemoglobin level. Patients with pulmonary hypertension have poor tolerance to decreases in hemoglobin levels, and even mild anemia should be treated promptly. On the other hand, patients with prolonged hypoxemia (eg, with right-to-left shunt) often present with polycythemia and an elevated hematocrit. When patients experience symptoms such as headache and difficulty concentrating, accompanied by a hematocrit of more than 65%, phlebotomy may be considered to reduce blood viscosity and increase the blood's ability to release oxygen to tissues.

5. Psychotherapy. Patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension develop the disease at an early age (median age is 40 years old), and their previous lifestyle is disrupted due to limited physical activity. Moreover, they are often affected by incorrect information about the disease from non-professionals, so many patients have varying degrees of anxiety and/or depression. Therefore, patients should be provided with sufficient information, cooperate with their families in active treatment, and be advised to receive treatment from a psychologist when necessary.