What are
pulmonary arteries?
Pulmonary arteries help carry blood from your heart to your lungs.7 Healthy blood vessels are open and elastic. This means that the right side of your heart is able to pump oxygen-poor blood through the pulmonary arteries to the lungs without much resistance.8,9
How does PAH
affect your body?
With PAH, there are changes in the body which cause the pulmonary arteries to become stiff and thick, so blood cannot flow easily. This causes constant high blood pressure in the pulmonary arteries.1 High blood pressure means that the right side of the heart must work harder to pump blood. This can make the muscles in your heart thicken, enlarging its right side and forcing it to work even harder.2