CAUT:Pulmonary Hypertension-Just now getting it all together

I have been battling BP for years..Its better now.139/74..I discover today that the Dr. has been watching my Pressure between the heart and lungs (Pulmonary Hypertension), not my systolic/dystolic and that it has come down drastically. I had a followup Ecocardiogram Tues. and the dr. visit was today. He said it is unusual to see it come down this fast an this well in the three years on the cpap. The normal is a 25 and mine now is 35 with just 10 to go to be within the normal limits.I have been telling you all that I feel so much better. I''ve been reading about the PH and this seems to be called Secondary Pulmonary Hypertension..due to its being caused by apnea. So there folks is another reason we must comply. His only fussing is that I don't change my mask often enough (as I try to save Medicare money) I told him I could tell if it leaked or didn't fit also I have the software and can see if problems pop up, but he said it would make a difference in the pressures. I have been putting my good ole year old comfortgel nasal mask in a cup of water and microwaving it for 1 minute and it stays tight and fits beautifully. I'm afraid not to listen to him. What do you say??
This I pulled up and thought it educational: Hypoxic vasoconstriction
Chronic hypoxemia causes pulmonary vasoconstriction by a variety of actions on pulmonary artery endothelium and smooth muscle cells, including down-regulation of endothelial nitric oxide synthetase and reduced production of the voltage-gated potassium channel alpha subunit. Chronic hypoxemia leading to pulmonary hypertension can occur in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), high-altitude disorders, and hypoventilation disorders (eg, obstructive sleep apnea).

Needingu....

After learning that we regulate the blood pressure in the lungs differently than the rest of the body, I've wondered if the all-night pressure of CPAP might adversely affect pulmonary blood pressure.

I've never read anything that says CPAP might result in a higher pulmonary Blood Pressure, but I wonder. In Physics, nature balances one force with another....one pressure with another.

I have long understood that divers....and those who work in pressurized environments like bridge caissons....get the "bends" caused by Nitrogen saturation....but I've never read of any damage to the lungs caused by the increased air pressure. If increased pressure caused pulmonary hypertension, then sport divers would be putting themselves at great risk.

What do you think? Could there be some sort of linkage between CPAP therapy....and a danger of increased blood pressure in the lungs?

Most of us experience a lowering of blood pressure measured on our legs or arms......but pulmonary blood pressure is extremely difficult to determine (or, so I've read). Could the difficulty of measuring prevent routine discovery of pulmonary hypertension?

Hi, I also have pulmonary hypertension. According to echocardiagram pressure before cpap was in the 35 to 37 range. My cardiologist is the one that kept after me to get the sleep study done and get on cpap. He said my pumonary hypertension would probably improve with cpap use. I have only been on cpap for three months, so haven't had my followup echo done yet.
I am already feeling better, so hope that I will see some improvement when I get the next echo done.

Needingu: I would probably get a new mask, at least yearly if your medicare will pay for it. I am sure there is some degradation of the silicone over time. Glad to hear you are numbers are going down.

Gerald: no clue on the physics of the pressure of cpap vs the lungs. But since my cardiologist felt there would be improvement in the pulmonary arterties because of cpap, seems unlikely that it would cause harm.

I'm sure we have some very capable folks here who can give us the answer and if I dig enough I think I can figure out the connection. I'm sure my Pulmonary Hypertension was caused by the apnea and that the cpap is aleviating the PH problem. I feel very forunate that it was discovered in time to maybe correct. I had a cousion who expired with that diagnosis...I wonder if she had apnea She never used a cpap. Google "Pulmonary Hypertension/apnea"
This is interesting,"If this study's findings apply to the general population, then OSA may be the most common cause of pulmonary hypertension, at least in patients with leg edema," he said. Furthermore, "failure to consider OSA as a possible cause of pulmonary hypertension and failure to order a polysomnogram might lead physicians to erroneously conclude that a patient's primary diagnosis is pulmonary hypertension, when, in fact, the correct diagnosis may be pulmonary hypertension secondary to OSA," Dr. Blankfield said.
"Whether obstructive sleep apnea causes pulmonary hypertension remains to be proven. "If one could demonstrate that effectively treating OSA decreases or normalizes pulmonary artery pressure, we could prove that obstructive sleep apnea causes pulmonary hypertension," concluded Dr. Blankfield. THIS IS WHERE I COME IN SINCE IT HAS BEEN PROVEN THAT THE CONDITION IS APPARENTLY CORRECTING ITS SELF.) What say you?

This takes me back to my nursing days..very interesting.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pulmon ... ION=causes

I, too, have PH. My pressure is about 41. The PH is secondary, and since my heart is pretty normal except for a couple of mild and common valve problems,the cardiologist has ruled out everything except the years of untreated OSA. My original diagnosis was about 5 years ago, and my pressure has not gotten any worse since I went on CPAP.

I was just diagnosed with secondary PH. I have been on CPAP for 2 years and my AHi and HI rates stay from 0.1 to maybe 2.0. I was started on meds, but I am still getting out of breath. I am still tired most of the time and faithfully use the CPAP every night. I go back to the CPAP clinic next week and the cardio on DEc 4th. I am hoping they can work together to figure out what else could be going on!

Needingu.....

Thanks for posting the Mayo article. I now understand that PH can be aggrivated or instigated by moving to a high altitude....meaning... a lowering of of air pressure can cause the problem. Therefore, increased pressure....like a CPAP machine....or scuba diving....would do the opposite.

Your article has removed my slight concern that CPAP use over a long period could possibly be harmful. Looks like "just the opposite" is the reality.

Gerald