If you or a family member has been diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension, you may wonder about your treatment options. Dr. Leonard Horovitz in New York, NY understands your concerns and can tell you about the choices available to you.

Pulmonary Treatments

Any of these treatment options can be done singularly or in combination with each other.

Oxygen Therapy – Receiving oxygen can be a way of increasing your body’s O2 stats which may be needed with pulmonary dysfunction.

Lifestyle Changes – From stopping smoking to avoiding dust and fumes, there are many lifestyle changes that may be needed. Changing a diet to a more nutritious one, avoiding pregnancy, increasing safe physical activity, and avoiding high altitudes are other ways to help your pulmonary function.

Medications – There are many types of medications that may help you, such as anticoagulants that prevent blood clots, diuretics that remove excess water from the body, and prostanoids that open lung arteries. Another medication class are endothelin receptor antagonists that will keep blood vessels from narrowing. Phosphodiesterase Type 5 inhibitors or PDE5 opens up blood vessels and helps blood flow in the lungs. Another medication that may help is soluble guanylate cyclase stimulators that works the same but uses a naturally occurring chemical in the body to interact with nitric acid and open the blood vessels.

Surgery – If none of the above seem to help, surgery is another treatment option. Some surgical options include pulmonary thromboendarterectomy or PTE which restores blood flow by removing artery clots. Other surgery options are lung transplantation, to give the patient a new set of lungs. These are last resort options that are saved until all other avenues are exhausted.

If you’d like to find out more about pulmonary treatments and the options that are available, Dr. Leonard Horovitz in New York, NY is here for you. Give our office a call at (212) 744-3001 for an appointment.