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Causes and Classification of Pulmonary Hypertension

Most of the research and published medical information on pulmonary hypertension was developed after 1973 when the World Health Organization (WHO) organized a meeting to classify pulmonary hypertension. This meeting resulted in a differentiation between primary and secondary pulmonary hypertension, and causes of each were specified.

Additionally, further conferences in 1998 and in 2003 have modified the classifications and causes to reflect new findings in medical research, resulting in five different groupings of pulmonary hypertension. The classification produced by these WHO conferences is as follows:

WHO Group I—Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) causes:

• Idiopathic
• Familial
• Resulting from other diseases, HIV infections, collagen vascular disease, drug use, toxins, and other diseases / disorders

WHO Group II—Pulmonary hypertension associated with the left heart disease causes:

• Ventricular disease or arterial disease
• Valvular disease

WHO Group III—Pulmonary hypertension associated with lung diseases and / or hypoxemia causes:

• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Sleep-disordered breathing
• Chronic high-altitude exposure
• Developmental lung abnormalities

WHO Group IV—Pulmonary hypertension due to chronic thrombotic and / or embolic disease causes:

• Pulmonary embolism
• Embolization of tumor cells, parasites, or other matter

WHO Group V—Miscellaneous

Speak with a Primary Pulmonary Hypertension Lawyer

If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with primary pulmonary hypertension, contact the PPH lawyers of Williams Kherkher today at 800-220-9341. We will work to help you identify the cause of your medical condition and will fight to get you the compensation you deserve.