News

Although clinically unexplored, pulmonary hypertension (PH) in the setting of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a significant reality in many patients (32 to 85%). IPF is an irreversible disease in which progressive loss of lung function due to fibrosis occurs, diminishing the lung’s capacity to absorb oxygen…

The Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) is organizing another edition of the annual educational forum “PHA On the Road,” intended to provide support to not only patients and families living with pulmonary hypertension (PH), but also medical professionals. Houston, Texas and San Diego, California are the two locations…

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a disease that affects multiple organs, with the heart being frequently affected and correlating with a poor outcome for the patient. Different heart structures can be affected leading to pericardial disease, arrhythmias, conduction system abnormalities, direct myocardial disease such as pulmonary arterial hypertension, myositis, cardiac failure,…

Dr. Francisco Boin of the Scleroderma Center at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine is organizing a live and free webinar about scleroderma, a rare autoimmune disease, taking place tomorrow, August 21, at 1:00 p.m. EDT. The center is one of the largest scleroderma specialty clinics in the world and is…

GeNo LLC, a pharmaceutical company developing a line of innovative nitric oxide drug products, is currently testing next-generation inhaled nitric oxide (NO) drug delivery systems for use in both hospital and outpatient settings that could come to impact treatments for those with pulmonary hypertension. Nitric oxide is a naturally…

A team of researchers from the University Medical Center Groningen in Holland, has identified three baseline variables that can become treatment goals in children suffering with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). PAH is rare in infants, however, it is a severe condition that rapidly deteriorates if left untreated.

Funding and awards from disease advocacy groups are usually given to scientists or clinicians and earmarked for research on new therapies and treatment options. While the Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) is certainly well-known for funding research into PH, the organization is also passionate about empowering…

A team of researchers from the Imperial College London, UK, has preformed a three-dimensional speckle tracking (3D-ST) study and found that patients who have pulmonary hypertension (PH) are found to suffer from reduced right ventricular (RV) strain and notably more dyssynchronous ventricles compared to healthy individuals. 3D-ST is an…

A team of researchers has published their results assessing left atrial volume in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) patients before and after pulmonary thromboendarterectomy (PTE), a surgical procedure that removes organized, clotted blood from the pulmonary arteries. When the body cannot reabsorb a pulmonary embolism (PE), clots…

Expert medical specialty care for rare diseases like pulmonary arterial hypertension was recently the subject of review in an article by Sean M. Studer, MD, MS, Chief of Medicine, Woodhull Hospital Medical Center, NY. The article, entitled “Do Patients With Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Benefit From Referral to…

The new guidelines for the management of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in adults published by The American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) is free to view in this month’s online issue of the journal CHEST for patients and clinicians alike. Full access to the study, entitled “Pharmacologic Therapy…

Some of the most difficult-to-treat patients with pulmonary hypertension are those with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). These patients are in the most severe category of pulmonary hypertension: World Health Organization (WHO) Group 4. CTEPH patients have curative potential if they have no resectable lesions or contraindications…