Pulmonary hypertension may be suspected by an echo, but the ONLY test used to actually diagnose PH is a right heart catherization. Other tests performed to help determine whether PH is the only thing wrong, or if the person has underlying causes for PH are blood test, chest xray, pulmonary function tests (PFTs), 6 minute walk, nuclear scan, and electrocardiogram.
A Holey Affair
When I was 9 months old, I was diagnosed with congenital heart disease (atrioventricular canal, to be exact, and pulmonary hypertension. I was most likely born with the 2 holes in my heart, and the PH developed very soon after, or I could've had both at the same time and it was missed until I was 9 months. Who knows really? I guess it doesn't really matter at this point! Anyway, for my entire childhood and young adulthood, the main focus was always on my heart. I had plenty of appointments with my pediatric cardiologist, and if I had to guess, over 150 echoes in my life so far. My heart has been in pretty stable condition for a very long time, and I'm so thankful for that! I find it ironic that after we started focusing on the pulmonary hypertension part of my condition in 2002, I sometimes forget about the congenital heart disease I've got going on. When I talk to people, I always describe PH, the symptoms, the treatments, etc, but I forget to say WHY I have PH in the ...
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