D. D. is a 66 year-old female suffering from shortness of breath. She smoked 2 packs a day until she quit 2 years ago. She has a history of bronchiolitis, hyperinflated lungs, pulmonary edema, and syncope. Her primary care practitioner suspects she also has pulmonary hypertension (PH). After examination, D. D. has a PAP of 35mmHg and mild CHF. Citing scholarly resources, answer the following questions:

a. What is pulmonary hypertension and how could D. D. have developed PH?
b. How does her history fit in with her new diagnosis?
c. How many patients are suffering from COPD in the United States? Do COPD sufferers die of respiratory causes or other causes? (Be sure to cite thesource of data.)

(a) Pulmonary hypertension is caused by changes in the cells that line the pulmonary arteries which makes the walls of the artery to become thick resulting in the blood vessels to become tight leading to high blood pressure. It makes the tiny arteries in the lungs to become narrow making it hard for blood to flow.

Explanation:(b)this disease is caused by smoking. She smoked 2 packs of cigarette a day .

(c)about 16million adults are suffering from chronic obstruction pulmonary disease( COPD) in the US but the American lung association thinks that there may be as many as 24million people with this disease (George Krucik MD sept. 2018)

(c) COPD is a leading cause of death in the US but he art and lung cancer can can lead to death.