Thank you for taking the time and attention. You have given me significant insight and I will use this to guide me I wish you the best.

Hi Michael,

I realize this post is older, but have you received treatment for PH? Can you tell us more about your journey? I am quite curious.

Please note: Everything I say here pertains to PAH. I do not know much about PVH.

Although the report mentions "mild pulmonary hypertension," it should indicate that "calculations may suggest mild pulmonary hypertension." A diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension requires a right-heart catheterization (RHC). I will provide further details below.

Based on the report's limited information and your comments, I see why your primary care physician was reluctant to order further testing. The heart is functioning normally, and no issues are noted on the walls, such as limited motion or thickening. Regurgitation is common and can have many causes. However, the report clearly states that you have "mild pulmonary hypertension." That alone is enough of a reason to receive a follow-up evaluation.

While PH is not always detected when loosely evaluated, based on the echocardiogram, there is no reason to do invasive evaluations. Upon further evaluation, bloodwork and a 6-minute walk (6MW) should be done to create a baseline. The echo serves as a new baseline and should be redone within 6 months to a year when results are different from the previous.

To elaborate more on the echocardiogram results, I'll explain why I believe the report should only say "calculations may suggest mild pulmonary hypertension" vs. "mild pulmonary hypertension." When measuring for PH with an echocardiogram, the machine uses many different measurements to calculate the PH pressure, making it critical that every measure is precise. Even then, it is only a calculation, not the actual measurement.

The ribcage and sternum are in front of the pulmonary artery (PA). Sound waves cannot pass through bone, so an ultrasound cannot measure PA pressure. When the calculations suggest PH, other signs and symptoms must be considered before further evaluation is ordered, especially when the echo suggests mild PH. A note of "significant PH" from an echo is a much more reliable result, but it is still insufficient to diagnose someone.

Unlike other medical imaging, ultrasound is very patient and user-dependent. Everyone is shaped differently and can have varying densities within their tissues. These are just a couple of the patient-dependent circumstances. The user-dependent part comes with education, training, and experience. Holding a transducer at a slightly different angle can yield wildly different results. Knowing how to interpret these results and adjusting the settings appropriately for each image and measurement is crucial.

In a RHC, a wire is guided into the PA, which detects the precise PA pressure. This is the only test that can diagnose someone with pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Will you tell us more about your experience following this echo and why you had the ablation?

Hope this helps!

No, No please do not take it upon yourself to take an OTC diuretic. They can be dangerous. I started on lisinaprel, which by the way helps your kidneys doc moved me up to bumex (brand name) only because I can't spell, generic. eliquis & metoporlol I must tell you any time you have regurgitation, that is a leak in your valve. which causes strain on your heart, fluid build build up, palpitations, metoporlol slows the heart to allow less stress, incorporate eliquis & that helps you with not allowing blood clots to form. If your doc doesn't want you to do necessary test please find another doc who cares about you as an individual and not what your insurance can pay
I absolutely can't express enough Your heart and lungs work together to feed your body with the oxygen your entire body needs wishing you the best Ellen🙂

Thank you very much for your insight. When my bp med changed to losartan I developed hyperkalemia. Unknowingly I started an OTC diuretic and that helped with my symptoms, which were mostly bedridden due to fatigue, The severe fatigue has subsided but still mild to moderate fatigue. I am borrowing an O2 portable concentrator and cannot get over how much it helps. I think I will start the OTC diuretic just to see if that helps while waiting on my next appointment next month. I realize you are not giving advice I am smart enough to research prior to jumping into something else to put in my body. I have used OTC diuretics and think it worth a try again, Thanks again for your valuable insight.

MichaelCunningham:
My best advice to you would be to seek out a Pulmonologist or Cardiologist who specializes in Pulmonary Hypertension. Your post indicates that you are seeing a Cardiologist. Not all Cardioligists are educated in Pulmonary Hypertension as not all Pulmonologists are trained in Pulmonary Hypertension. That is why I suggest you seek out a specialist. A second opinion might provide you with more assurance about your particular case of PH. As all of us on this site are patients or perhaps caregivers we can not give you any medical advice. We can share our experience and perhaps suggest a path for you to follow. We are so very unique in our disease.
You are right when you say that there are no meds for PH in Groups-2-5.
Group 1 PAH has several meds developed specifally for their treatment. These meds are not prescribed for Groups 2-5 as they are treated by focusing the underlying causes.
Hopefully you can find someone who will see you soon....and not in a years time.