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By: Uchenna Ani-okoye

Primary Pulmonary Hypertension and the Diet Pill

Primary pulmonary hypertension or PPH is a condition that seems to be growing amongst the masses unfortunately. A problem that was once rare is becoming more and more prevalent in society. High pulmonary blood pressure leads to the heart having to work harder in order to pump enough blood into the lungs. Over time, the heart will eventually get weaker and weaker, until you eventually have heart failure. The real question is why this occurs.

Through research it has been determine that the main cause for this increase in PPH can be blamed on appetite suppressing drugs like Fenfluramine, Dexfenfluramine and Aminorex. These are the three main ingredients that you will find in most appetite suppressants that you may be familiar with by the names pondimin, phen fen and redux.

Over time, the pressure in the arteries will increase until it reaches levels that are unacceptable at around 30 to 50% higher than normal. This will result in changes, though subtle, in the lungs blood vessels. As these small blood vessels in the lungs begin to get smaller in size, the level of resistance to blood flow begins to increase, making it far more difficult for the blood to flow through it. The end result is that the blood will begin to back up, resulting in an increase in pressure.

There are a number of symptoms that people who suffer from PPH experience such as feeling fatigued, shortness of breath, pains in the chest and random dizziness. Diagnosing someone you believe to have PPH is a fairly long process which involves the elimination of all other possible causes, and it can be very frustrating for the patient and for the doctor.

Because of the connection that was made by researchers and scientists between the appetite suppressants and primary pulmonary hypertension, there has been much litigation initiated as a result, with much more set to come in the near future.