Symptoms of Hypertension | Quickly Lower Blood Pressure
Portal Hypertension
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What is Portal Hypertension?
To understand portal hypertension it is important to understand what the term portal refers to. The portal refers to a vein or actually, many veins that are connected to the liver on one side and the digestive system on the other. As with all veins their job is to deliver nutrients.
As the word hypertension would indicate, portal hypertension refers to elevated blood pressure in the portal veins. This elevation of blood pressure can occur because of a problem in the portal veins, such as a blood clot. It can also be a manifestation of a problem with the liver.
Cirrhosis of the Liver
One such problem is scar tissue on the liver. This scaring is also known as cirrhosis of the liver. Common causes of cirrhosis are hepatitis and overuse of alcohol. Another possible cause is injury.
Usually, portal hypertension causes the spleen to enlarge. This happens because when the patient has portal hypertension the blood flow from the spleen will be slowed down.
Portal Hypertension Emergency
If the hypertension is bad enough, it could be an emergency situation. If so, the patient will be feed fluids intravenously. A blood transfusion may also be necessary and if the liver has reached the point where it no longer functions effectively, a liver transplant would be needed.
Symptoms
The most common symptoms of portal hypertension are blood in vomit or black stools. The black is, actually blood but when there is bleeding from an internal part of the body such as the liver, the blood will appear very dark. If the blood were originating from the lower intestine, it would be red. Portal hypertension may not exhibit any of these signs but a patient could be diagnosed with it anyway.
Treatment
In most cases the hypertension will not be an emergency. If this is so and the liver is still able to function viably, there really won't be very much done in the way of treatment. However, the patient will have to follow strict living guidelines.
As you may imagine, alcohol will be forbidden. The health care provider will prescribe a low sodium diet for the patient and the patient's case will have to be followed very closely.
The liver is a vital organ. Once it is badly harmed for whatever reason, it cannot be repaired. This is why liver transplants have become somewhat commonplace. The biggest problem in being able to get a liver replacement is finding one. For this reason, the medical community has prioritized the list of who will receive the next available liver according to whether or not the recipient's liver has failed due to alcoholism. This is something to remember when making lifestyle choices.
In short, portal hypertension is an indication of something going awry with the liver. As with any disease it is much less complicated and easier to deal with when it is detected early.
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Portal Hypertension
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