Unfortunately, the symptoms of PH are generally not apparent early on in the onset of the disease, and this may be the case for years to come. However, as PH progresses, signs and symptoms of the disease will become apparent.
Listed below are some of the most common symptoms associated with PH. Patients need not necessarily present with most or all of these symptoms for the disease to present, however, these symptoms are generally observed in the PH patient population:
- Fatigue which may be due to poorly oxygenated blood;
- You may experience shortness of breath. In early phase this may occur when you are exercising but later will progress and become apparent when you are resting;
- You may experience pain or perhaps pressure in the chest area;
- Fast heart beat or skipped beats (palpitations or arrhythmias);
- You may feel faint or dizzy which is known as syncope;
- Your lips or skin may turn blue, this is referred to as cyanosis (lack of oxygen in the blood);
- Swelling in your legs and ankles/feet also known as edema
- Internal lung bleeding and coughing up blood (hemoptysis);