Pay attention to the warning signal

When hiking: Be careful when you run out of air!

Summits are stormed in the fall.

(Bild: cppzone – stock.adobe.com (Symbolbild))

Many hikers are now heading for the mountains again. Anyone suffering from shortness of breath should take this seriously as a warning sign. It could be due to lung disease, which gradually makes itself felt through a lack of air. Many people notice this for the first time during sporting activities.

They notice the shortness of breath gradually. Walks then become noticeably more strenuous from one day to the next, and beloved hikes, which are so beautiful in October, become difficult.

Pulmonary hypertension may be the cause
Caution is advised here, as shortness of breath that develops over years and becomes increasingly severe can be an alarm signal for a variety of illnesses. Possible lung diseases include respiratory or lung tissue diseases, but long-term breathlessness can also indicate diseases of the pulmonary vessels such as pulmonary hypertension. According to the latest estimates, this is present in at least one percent of the population.

This condition is often associated with an existing heart or lung disease, but can also occur as a late consequence of a pulmonary embolism or as a separate disease of the pulmonary vessels.

"Pathological processes can lead to changes in the wall of the pulmonary vessels, with the result that the blood can no longer flow unhindered. As a result, the heart has to work harder and blood pressure increases. If the blood pressure in the pulmonary arteries is permanently elevated, this is known as pulmonary hypertension (PH). This condition can damage the right part of the heart, which pumps blood to the lungs, and lead to right-sided heart failure, which can be fatal," explained Assistant Professor Dr. Gabor Kovacs, PhD, Deputy Head of the Division of Pulmonology, MedUni Graz, at a press conference in Vienna.

It is important to identify the disease that triggers breathlessness at an early stage and to treat it accordingly. For example, a large number of drugs are now available for pulmonary hypertension patients for whom there was no causal therapy 25 years ago.