Chances are, all of you reading this article have heard of “high blood pressure” more than a few times or have acquaintances who are suffering from this condition. Or, perhaps you have this condition yourself. The technical term of this common condition is “hypertension”.

So, what’s the difference between hypertension and pulmonary hypertension? Hypertension occurs from the obstruction of blood flow through the arteries in the left side of the heart. On the other hand, pulmonary hypertension concerns just the arteries in the right side of the heart and those in the lungs.
 
The arteries in the lungs are known as pulmonary arteries and capillaries. Although these arteries and capillaries are narrow, blood can pass easily through them. However, when the width of these arteries decreases (i.e. they become narrower); it becomes difficult for blood to pass through these arteries into the lungs.  The same effect occurs when the arteries are blocked or destroyed. All these lead to high pressure in the pulmonary arteries. The gradual build-up of pressure makes the muscles of the right ventricle (i.e. the right chamber in the lower part of the heart) contract harder so that the necessary amount of blood can be pumped into the lungs. As a result, the heart muscles become tired or stop working altogether. This condition is known as “pulmonary hypertension”.