Scientists recently concluded that primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH) is not as rare as once believed. In addition, researchers believe that some cases of PPH may be genetic. Scientists studied victims of this rare form of high blood pressure and found that five families with members diagnosed with primary pulmonary hypertension were actually descendants of one couple from the 1800s. This lends credence to scientists' theory that many instances of "sporadic PPH" may actually be genetic.
Primary pulmonary hypertension received increased attention as researchers discovered that the now recalled diet drugs, pondimin, fen-phen, and redux also caused the condition.
PPH causes uncontrolled cell growth within the lungs' blood vessels, which forces the heart to work harder and blood pressure to increase. Life expectancy for those diagnosed with PPH is short and treatment options are limited and expensive.
This recent discovery follows the announcement made last year that many people with PPH carry a mutated BMPR2 gene. This gene regulates growth and development of the lungs.
August 7, 2001
