I recently lost a friend and patient of almost a decade. Her battle with familial pulmonary hypertension started when she was a young girl and her mother died from the disease. I met her in her early twenties when she already had severe PAH. Her brother had been treated for severe PAH for several years prior. When I first met her, she had a young daughter, the light of … [Read more...]
A wish for 2016
As we look back to 2015 it has been a good year for pulmonary hypertension patients. We have made steps forward. We have an expanding number of medications to treat PAH. Patients are living longer and feeling better. We have taken further steps toward understanding the genes involved in the disease. Despite our progress, we remain ineffective in answering some very basic … [Read more...]
Update: Anticoagulation (Blood Thinners) & Pulmonary Hypertension
The question of whether anticoagulation (thinning of blood with medications) should be used in the treatment of pulmonary hypertension dates back more than 35 years. Very early observations of small blood clots in the lungs of PAH patients propelled interest in using warfarin (our oldest blood thinner). In the 1980’s and 1990’s several small studies were completed that … [Read more...]
The Pulmonary Hypertension Team
I would like to acknowledge the role of our PH nurse coordinators and support staff. The care of pulmonary hypertension patients is a challenge. A typical new patient that I see has already been to a cardiologist and at least one other pulmonologist in addition to their primary care doctor. They have had dozens of tests and perhaps been hospitalized a few times. Intake … [Read more...]
Sarcoidosis and Pulmonary Hypertension
What is Sarcoidosis? Sarcoidosis is an uncommon and poorly understood multisystem disease that commonly affects the lungs and lymph nodes. However, it may affect any organ of the body. Despite decades of research, the exact cause remains unknown. The most common manifestation of the disease is enlarged lymph nodes in the chest and nodules and scarring in the lungs. The … [Read more...]
