This condition is called primary pulmonary hypertension, or PPH, and in recent years, there have been only as much as about 1,000 new diagnoses of it in the United States. Signs of primary pulmonary hypertension can appear on anyone at any age, even small children, but those who should especially watch out for them are women between the ages of 20 and 40.

In the initial stages, you are most likely to experience fatigue; symptoms that come later include difficult breathing, lightheadedness, dizziness, possible fainting spells, swollenness in the ankles or legs, chest pain, bluish discoloration of the lips and other body parts (also known as cyanosis), and coughing up blood.

It is uncertain what leads to the signs of primary pulmonary hypertension and how best to diagnose it. The causes are speculated to include genetics, familial predisposition, and diseases in the immune system, Raynaud's syndrome, appetite suppressants, cocaine, HIV, scleroderma, and systemic lupus erytematosus. New treatments are still being tested, and the most effective ones vary widely from patient to patient.

Thus far, it is known that you can orally take drugs that help lower blood pressure, such as calcium channel-blockers, anticoagulants, or diuretics. Other options include intravenous prostacyclin, supplemental oxygen (which some would need throughout the day), or, as a last resort, lung/heart-lung transplantation which must be approved after an evaluation at a lung transplantation center.

Whichever treatments you decide upon, be encouraged that they can help you gradually return to normal functioning, especially if you have not needed a diagnosis until after the age of 40 and if your signs of primary pulmonary hypertension do not include a history of heart failure.

The median amount of time PPH symptoms take to come to fuller development is said to be three years. Because signs of primary pulmonary hypertension are so difficult to detect, you should seek out a doctor who has the latest technology available and therefore has the best chance to detect PPH while it is in its early stages.

You cannot afford to risk your health or your future; you should take necessary actions to fight PPH as soon as possible. Take the signs of primary pulmonary hypertension that you experience seriously, especially if they are over an extended period of time.