When a person is affected by any disease, the body shows some signs so that it can be treated. However, sometimes people misjudge certain signs and get the wrong medication. This is why the diverse symptoms and causes of pulmonary arterial hypertension need to be checked to determine the correct therapy.

Electrocardiogram or ECG
The ECG is a simple test that notices any irregularity in the rhythm of the heartbeats through the electrical activity of the heart. This type of test is assigned by the doctor to determine the activities of the heart and detect any change in the size of the right ventricle.

Physical exam
It is generally the first step when diagnosing the symptoms and causes of pulmonary arterial hypertension. In this annual checkup, the doctor looks at the conditions of the different organs in the body through various exams, like checking the pressure and using a stethoscope to hear the heartbeat. At most times, irregularities are noticed during this process.

Echocardiogram
In this process, doctors check the conditions of the heart and lungs with sound waves. The doctors check if the arterial walls are thick enough to withstand the pressure and if there are any problems in the working of the right ventricles. Sometimes, the doctors ask the patient to run on a treadmill after having an echocardiogram exam to see how their heart and lungs perform under stress.

Chest x-rays
In this test, a slight amount of radiation is used via a machine to scan the chest area, namely the lungs, heart, and bones. This is done to see whether the right ventricles and pulmonary artery are working properly.

Blood tests
In case of any problems in the heart, the best way to detect the reason is through a series of blood tests. The doctors recommend this method to look for the complications that pulmonary arterial hypertension normally causes. It also searches for certain conditions that can cause the disease, like the presence of blood clots or any autoimmune diseases.

If the symptoms and causes of pulmonary arterial hypertension have proven to be valid through these tests, the doctor prescribes a second batch of examinations to understand the severity of the situation.

CT scan
CT scans are used to make the arteries more visible by injecting a dye into the vessels and then scanning the whole body with an x-ray machine.

MRI scans
The movement of the blood in the lung is checked through this test with radio-waves or magnetic energy.

Ventilation/Perfusion scan
In the VP scan method, a tracer is inserted in a vein which measures the flow of blood and air in the lungs. It is also used to detect blood clots

There are various methods available to catch and understand the different symptoms and causes of pulmonary arterial hypertension. This is performed in around two waves of examinations.