Elevated Pressure, Exhausted Heart
Blood in our body is sent from the right ventricle through the pulmonary artery to the lungs to receive oxygen.
However, if pulmonary arteries narrow or become stiff, the right ventricle must pump harder to send blood, causing a rise in Mean Pulmonary Arterial Pressure (mPAP > 20mmHg).
If this state persists, the right ventricular wall thickens and eventually tires out, leading to loss of function known as Right Heart Failure.
Symptoms like shortness of breath (Dyspnea) with minimal movement, leg swelling (Edema), and blue lips (Cyanosis) are distress signals from the heart.
In particular, Idiopathic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (IPAH), where the cause is unknown, requires special attention as diagnosis is often delayed.
BM's Perspective: Why Did the Vessels Thicken?
BM Korean Internal Medicine Clinic asks, "Why did the pulmonary vessels undergo remodeling?"
Narrowing of the pulmonary artery is not simple constriction but a result of the vessel wall thickening due to excessive proliferation of endothelial and smooth muscle cells.
From the perspective of Korean Medicine, pulmonary hypertension is a state of Heart and Lung Qi Deficiency (Sim-pye-gi-heo / 心肺氣虛) and Blood Stasis Blocking Collaterals (Eo-hyeol-jo-rak / 瘀血阻絡).
- Heart and Lung Qi Deficiency (Sim-pye-gi-heo): A state where the energy of the heart and lungs is weak, reducing the function of pushing blood and accepting oxygen.
- Blood Stasis Blocking Collaterals (Eo-hyeol-jo-rak): A state where blood stasis accumulates in the pulmonary vascular network (collaterals), causing vessel walls to thicken and blocking circulation.
We look beyond the elevated pressure numbers to see the inflammatory changes in vessels and the energy depletion of the heart that caused the pressure. This is the essence of pulmonary hypertension as viewed by Internal Medicine by Korean Medicine Physicians.
