Risk factors for developing high blood pressure in the pulmonary artery

The pulmonary artery is the blood vessel that takes blood from the right side of your heart to your lungs to get oxygen. If the pressure in that artery builds up, you could get pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). This disease can cause heart failure and death. Knowing the risk factors for this disease could help prevent it. Or, it could help get PAH under control early. Metabolic syndrome is the name for a group of risk factors that could lead to heart disease, stroke, or diabetes. People who have this disease are often overweight, have high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. These are risk factors for heart disease and stroke. Some people with metabolic syndrome also have insulin resistance. Insulin resistance means your body does not handle sugar in the blood normally. This can lead to diabetes. Researchers will look for a link between risk factors for metabolic syndrome and those for PAH. They think that people who are insulin resistant and overweight might also be at risk for PAH. Using BioVU, they will look for a link between insulin resistance and PAH. A link could mean that some of the successful treatments used for metabolic syndrome could help treat PAH.