Primary Pulmonary Hypertension is basically a disorder of the blood vessels wherein the pressure in the pulmonary artery rises above normal levels, thereby posing a life-threatening risk. Several diseases or causative factors, largely unknown, may lead to the malfunctioning denoted by the term Primary Pulmonary Hypertension.
Research done in recent times point out that A mutation in the gene denoted BMPR2 Causes Primary Pulmonary Hypertension. Researchers have sensed that other genes may also possibly lead to causing Primary Pulmonary Hypertension. It is also probable that other genes can contribute to the development of the disease in people, together with the known mutation of the BMPR2 gene. The disease is thereby inheritable via genes.
Most cases of Primary Pulmonary Hypertension are, however, found to be not inherited as a result of traits in genes. Cirrhosis of THE liver, stimulant abuse and H.I.V. infection are often closely associated with Primary Pulmonary Hypertension, though no cause of the disease has been specifically delineated. Conclusive evidence has, however, been found regarding a direct correlation between the usage of appetite suppressants (diet drugs) and the risk of Primary Pulmonary Hypertension. The names of Pondimin and Redux, commonly known as Fen Phen, are important in this regard. These drugs were recommended by hospitals and health centers from the 1970s to late 1990s. The manufacturers and the people prescribing it (doctors and the like) did not have the necessary diligence to discover the severe risk involved in using the drugs. Their ignorance has, thus, been the cause of thousands of people either suffering from the disease or potentially at risk to fall prey to the deadly condition.