Pulmonary Hypertension - the rare lung condition with no cure

A primary school teacher from Kent, who was diagnosed with a rare lung condition, was first told she may have asthma.

Alex Charlesworth from Dartford is now trying to raise awareness of Pulmonary Hypertension.

The disease restricts the flow of blood between the heart and lungs.

  • Tom Savvides reports:

Every morning Alex Charlesworth prepares her medication.

She wears a pump 24 hours a day through which drugs are pumped into her body.

Drugs are pumped into Alex's body Credit: ITV Meridian

Alex, a primary school teacher, was initially told she had asthma but was then diagnosed with Pulmonary Hypertension for which there is no cure.

It's a rare disease that restricts the flow of blood between the heart and the lungs because arteries become stiff.

  • Alex Charlesworth

SYMPTOMS OF PULMONARY HYPERTENSION

  • Shortness of breath

  • Tiredness

  • Feeling faint or dizzy

  • Chest pain

  • Swelling in the legs, ankles, feet or stomach

  • Iain Armstrong- Pulmonary Hypertension Association:

Alex knows that she has a life long condition but having a diagnosis means she can now control the symptoms.