A disease is an abnormal condition affecting a living organism. Diseases are generally understood to be medical conditions that involve a pathological process associated with a specific set of symptoms. Localized diseases affect specific parts of the body; disseminated diseases spread to other parts of the body; and systemic diseases affect the entire body.
LAM, or lymphangioleiomyomatosis, is a rare type of lung disease that affects mostly women of childbearing age (the years between puberty and menopause when it is possible to become pregnant). Symptoms of LAM may include shortness of breath, tiredness, and cough. LAM can be difficult to diagnose, as the symptoms often look like asthma, bronchitis, and other lung diseases.
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a serious chronic (long term) disease that affects the tissue surrounding the air sacs, or alveoli, in your lungs. This condition develops when that lung tissue becomes thick and stiff for unknown reasons. Over time, these changes can cause permanent scarring in the lungs, called fibrosis, that makes it progressively more difficult to breathe.
Low blood pressure occurs when blood flows through your blood vessels at lower than normal pressures. The medical term for low blood pressure is hypotension. Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of your arteries as the heart pumps blood. It is usually described as two numbers: systolic and diastolic.
Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is a type of platelet disorder. In ITP, your blood does not clot as it should, because you have a low platelet count. Platelets are tiny blood cells that are made in the bone marrow. When you are injured, platelets stick together to form a plug that seals your wound. This plug is called a blood clot. When you have a low platelet count, you may have trouble stopping bleeding.
Interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) are a group of several disorders that can cause scarring in your lungs. The scar tissue in your lungs affects your lungs’ ability to carry oxygen and can make it harder for you to breathe normally. In ILDs, scarring damages tissues in or around the lungs’ air sacs, or alveoli, and airways.
The term “long QT” refers to a problem with the pattern seen on an electrocardiogram (EKG). An EKG is a test that detects and records your heart’s electrical activity. Information from the EKG is mapped on a graph so your doctor can study your heart’s electrical activity. Each heartbeat is mapped as five separate electrical waves: P, Q, R, S, and T.
Hypersensitivity pneumonitis happens in some people after they breathe in certain substances in the environment, such as mold or the skin cells shed by animals with fur. These substances trigger the immune system and cause short- or long-term inflammation in the lungs. This inflammation prevents the lungs from working properly and can make it harder to breathe.