Her medical team originally put the symptoms down to her wearing plaster spinal casts full time to help her scoliosis, but her family pushed for further tests, and Abbie was eventually diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension (PH). The condition causes high blood pressure in the vessels connecting the heart and lungs – the pulmonary arteries – which then become stiff and thickened, or blocked by blood clots. PH is rare, with about 8,000 people in the UK receiving a diagnosis, and each year a special day takes place to raise awareness of the condition. "Abbie’s PH is a result of her restricted lung development, which is in turn, a result of her new diagnosis of progressive kyphoscoliosis," said Andrea. For more information about PH, see www.phauk.org – the website of the Pulmonary Hypertension Association UK.

Source: The Times November 06, 2023 05:05 UTC