Primary Pulmonary Hypertension in Babies and Other Patients

There is a rare condition called primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH), symptoms of which can occur unknowingly in anyone of any age. But PPH's highest percentage of occurrence is said to be among women between the ages of 20 and 40. Primary pulmonary hypertension in babies is also a possibility, and one known cause of these particular cases is the taking of certain antidepressants by the women who are pregnant with them during their twentieth week or later.

It has been said that the report should not encourage these women to wean themselves off of the medications. The antidepressants studied specifically for this in recent months have well-known names: Celexa, Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft. Primary pulmonary hypertension in babies has been predicted to cause death in about 10 to 20 percent of them not long after birth.

Symptoms of primary pulmonary hypertension in babies to look for may include hearing loss, abnormalities in the brain, dysfunctional development, poor eating, seizures, and anxiety. In older patients, they can include fatigue (as an initial symptom), difficult breathing, lightheadedness, dizziness, possible fainting spells, leg/ankle swollenness, chest pain, coughing up blood, or bluish discoloration of lips or other parts of the body (also known as cyanosis).

Pregnant women who discover primary pulmonary hypertension in babies may be able to file a lawsuit against drug companies in the event they did not receive sufficient warning on their medications' labels beforehand. While they may not be able to recover the loss of life, such lawsuits, if nothing else, can give them a chance at financial compensation.

If you are an older patient manifesting PPH, you should know that you should expect to develop the illness only very gradually. The median amount of time it is said to take to reach full development is three years. However, you should try to find a physician who has the latest technology available to help you diagnose it while it is in its earliest stages.

Depending on the treatments you decide to pursue, you can expect an eventual return to normal functioning especially if you did not need a diagnosis until after the age of 40. Your options can include calcium channel-blockers, anticoagulants, diuretics, intravenous prostacyclin, supplemental oxygen, or, as a last resort, lung/heart-lung transplantation which needs evaluation at a transplantation center to be approved.

Primary pulmonary hypertension in babies or anyone else should be taken seriously. Take necessary actions as soon as possible; your future and that of your loved ones may very well be at stake.

About The Author-- Nick Johnson is lead counsel with Johnson Law Group. Johnson represents plaintiffs in many states and focuses on injury cases involving Fen-Phen and PPH, Paxil, Mesothelioma, and Avandia. Call Nick Johnson at 1-888-311-5522 or visit http://www.johnsonlawgroup.com

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