Pulmonary Hypertension in Newborns
Due to this defect in the pulmonary arteries, the right heart ventricle needs to work much harder to properly pump the blood, making the organ enlarged and weakened. There are different types and causes for the disease — factors that influence diagnosis, treatment and prognosis.
When babies are born with the disease, it is called persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) or neonatal pulmonary hypertension. The disease is characterized by a failure in the normal circulatory transition that is inborn in babies and can result in hypoxemia and right-to-left intracardiac shunting of blood. There are signs and symptoms that can help identify the disease and start early treatment to prevent further complications.
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