Fast Five Quiz: Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Clinical manifestations of PAH may include the following:

• History of heart murmur

• Deep venous thrombosis or pulmonary embolism

• Raynaud phenomenon

• Arthritis or arthralgias

• Rash

• Heavy alcohol consumption

• Hepatitis

• Heavy snoring

• Daytime hypersomnolence

• Morning headaches

• Morbid obesity

• Family history of pulmonary hypertension

• Drug use, in particularly diet drugs and illicit drugs

• Medications

Patients with PAH may also have nonspecific symptoms secondary to pulmonary hypertension. These may include the following:

• Dyspnea on exertion

• Fatigue

• Lethargy

• Syncope with exertion

• Chest pain

• Anorexia

• Right upper quadrant pain

Less common symptoms include the following:

• Cough

• Hemoptysis

• Hoarseness (resulting from compression of the recurrent laryngeal nerve by the distended pulmonary artery)

The intensity of the pulmonic component of the P₂ may be increased, and the P₂ may demonstrate fixed or paradoxical splitting. A systolic ejection murmur may be heard over the left sternal border. The murmur may be augmented by inspiration. A right ventricular heave may be palpated.

Although PAH has been associated with thyroid dysfunction, the most common association is with hyperthyroidism.

Read more on PAH.

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Any views expressed above are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of WebMD or Medscape.

Cite this: Zab Mosenifar. Fast Five Quiz: Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension - Medscape - Jun 14, 2019.