Many patients with PAH become very focused on caring for that specific disease, and rightly so. After all, we ask that pulmonary hypertension patients become well versed in their disease and treatments and help educate other providers on this rare disease. Sometimes providers also become hyper-focused while treating PAH patients and put preventative testing on the back burner. … [Read more...]
Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT) Treatment
Nose bleeding The first step in treating a nose bleed is applying pressure. You should lean forward slightly and pinch your nose with firm pressure. Don’t let go for ten minutes. When you let go, don’t try and blow your nose and avoid packing your nose with tissue paper. When you blow your nose, you will displace the clot that has stopped the bleeding. Similarly, when … [Read more...]
Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT)
Disease Overview HHT is a rare disease that leads to abnormal blood vessel growth throughout the body. This commonly leads to frequent nose bleeds (epistaxis), gastro-intestinal bleeding and anemia. The more serious manifestations include abnormal blood vessels in the lungs, brain and liver. These abnormal blood vessels can lead to infections in the brain, bleeding in the … [Read more...]
Diastolic Heart Failure vs. PAH
The most common disease confused with pulmonary arterial hypertension is diastolic heart failure (also called heart failure with preserved ejection fraction-HeFPEF). In my practice about 70% of patients referred to me for PAH actually have diastolic heart failure. Let’s review basic heart function. The heart has two main actions—squeezing and relaxing. The squeezing phase … [Read more...]
End of Year Insurance Considerations for PAH Patients
The end of the year brings many celebrated happenings. It is a wonderful time of year to celebrate coming together with family and friends. It also brings a much less celebrated event…open enrollment. Open Enrollment We are currently in the middle of Medicare/Medicaid open enrollment which began October 15th and will end December 7th. Coverage chosen during this time will … [Read more...]
