News

MicroRNA levels may help predict CTEPH diagnosis: Study

Blood levels of microRNA — small RNA molecules that regulate protein production — are decreased in people with pulmonary embolism (PE) compared with healthy people. PE is the cause of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). However, higher blood levels of miR-let7a were found in people with acute PE who…

Men with PAH have higher mortality, despite better measures

Despite having more favorable clinical measures, such as blood flow, men with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) have a higher mortality risk than women with the disease, according to a recent study. This is known as the “sex paradox” and may occur because men may develop PAH only if higher…

IPAH disease worsening linked to 2 tumor biomarkers: Study

Elevated levels of two tumor biomarkers, AFP and CA125, were found to predict disease worsening in people with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) in a new study from China. “Changes in AFP over time serve as an indicator of disease alteration, enabling detection of disease progression or treatment response,”…

Delayed diagnosis common with PAH, multinational survey finds

About 41% of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) patients in a multinational survey were initially misdiagnosed, seeing an average of 2.9 physicians before getting their correct diagnosis. The non-specific nature of their disease symptoms and a lack of awareness among patients and primary care physicians contribute to this delay,…

Gradient enrolls 1st patient in study of ultrasound-based catheter device

Gradient Denervation Technologies has enrolled the first patient in a clinical study of an ultrasound-based catheter device for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension (PH) caused by left heart disease. The PreVail-PH2 (NCT06052072) study is evaluating the feasibility of the minimally invasive device in delivering therapeutic ultrasound energy…

Algorithm may help diagnose PH when echocardiography uncertain

An algorithm based on artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning may help in diagnosing pulmonary hypertension (PH), a new study shows. Its findings are particularly important for people suspected of having PH but whose disease remains uncertain using echocardiography, a noninvasive imaging method to examine heart structure and function.


A Conversation With Rare Disease Advocates