Dr. Larissa Shimoda to discuss mechanisms of hypoxic pulmonary hypertension
Monday, April 11, 2011 - 03:00
in Health & Medicine
When muscles and organs are deprived of an adequate supply of oxygen--a condition called hypoxia--the body's usual responses include increased circulation and a slight drop in blood pressure in the blood vessels serving the affected tissue. However, the blood vessels in the lungs react differently: blood pressure in the lungs rises, often with deleterious effects on the lungs' tissue and the heart. Larissa A. Shimoda, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Md., has dedicated her research to learning why this happens and whether it's possible to treat the condition using drugs that are already on the market.