a condition in which there is raised blood pressure within the blood vessels supplying the lungs (the pulmonary artery blood pressure is normally much lower than the pressure within the aorta and its branches). Pulmonary hypertension may complicate pulmonary embolism, septal defect, heart failure, diseases of the mitral valve, and chronic lung diseases. It may also develop without any known cause (primary pulmonary hypertension). The right ventricle enlarges and heart failure, fainting, and chest pain occur. The treatment is that of the cause; drugs used to control hypertension are ineffective.
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pulmonary arterial hypertension increased pressure (above 30 mm Hg systolic and 12 mm Hg diastolic) within the pulmonary arterial circulation.Medical dictionary. 2011.