Spreading Awareness
November is Pulmonary Hypertension Awareness month. So, I'd like to take a moment to share with whoever is out there reading details about pulmonary hypertension (or PH for short).
PH is a rare lung condition, where the pulmonary artery leading from the lungs to the heart is constricted. It is like high blood pressure, only it is in the lungs. Only about 2 out of every million people have this disease. However, the symptoms of PH are similar to many other health problems out there, such as asthma and other heart ailments. It is for this reason that it may take quite a bit of time, years even, to be correctly diagnosed with PH. So in all actuality, there could be many more people with PH who don't know it.
Symptoms of PH include extreme shortness of breath with minimal exertion, fatigue, chest pain, dizziness, and even fainting. These symptoms can come on gradually, or start happening all of a sudden.
PH doesn't discriminate. Anyone can get PH, men and women of all ages and races. It does seem to especially effect women of child-bearing age.
Although there is no cure (yet!), treatments for PH are improving all the time. Just 15 years ago, there was almost nothing to treat the symptoms. There are intravenous drugs, oral meds, and also inhalation meds. Just this past summer, Viagra was approved under a different name! And there are more drugs in trials that will hopefully be approved for treatment in the near future. Besides drugs, oxygen therapy is often used for many people. Also, lung transplants may be another option, but it is often a last resort option, since it's a very risky procedure.
Why am I writing about all this? It is because I have lived with PH and a congenital heart condition all my life. I was born with PH, and the doctors back then didn't have much hope for me. There was nothing they could do. I grew up feeling the symptoms of PH daily. Yet, somehow, I'm still here 30 years later! I am finally on treatment after all this time, and it has helped a lot. I am on a medicine that is only a few years old, and oxygen, which has made me feel so much better. I am hoping for the best with this disease! Keeping a positive attitude is something else I think that's kept me going.
And so, this is my entry about awareness. I hope I've educated at least one person today. If you'd like to learn more about PH, please go to the Pulmonary Hypertension Association website. It has a lot of information! :)
PH is a rare lung condition, where the pulmonary artery leading from the lungs to the heart is constricted. It is like high blood pressure, only it is in the lungs. Only about 2 out of every million people have this disease. However, the symptoms of PH are similar to many other health problems out there, such as asthma and other heart ailments. It is for this reason that it may take quite a bit of time, years even, to be correctly diagnosed with PH. So in all actuality, there could be many more people with PH who don't know it.
Symptoms of PH include extreme shortness of breath with minimal exertion, fatigue, chest pain, dizziness, and even fainting. These symptoms can come on gradually, or start happening all of a sudden.
PH doesn't discriminate. Anyone can get PH, men and women of all ages and races. It does seem to especially effect women of child-bearing age.
Although there is no cure (yet!), treatments for PH are improving all the time. Just 15 years ago, there was almost nothing to treat the symptoms. There are intravenous drugs, oral meds, and also inhalation meds. Just this past summer, Viagra was approved under a different name! And there are more drugs in trials that will hopefully be approved for treatment in the near future. Besides drugs, oxygen therapy is often used for many people. Also, lung transplants may be another option, but it is often a last resort option, since it's a very risky procedure.
Why am I writing about all this? It is because I have lived with PH and a congenital heart condition all my life. I was born with PH, and the doctors back then didn't have much hope for me. There was nothing they could do. I grew up feeling the symptoms of PH daily. Yet, somehow, I'm still here 30 years later! I am finally on treatment after all this time, and it has helped a lot. I am on a medicine that is only a few years old, and oxygen, which has made me feel so much better. I am hoping for the best with this disease! Keeping a positive attitude is something else I think that's kept me going.
And so, this is my entry about awareness. I hope I've educated at least one person today. If you'd like to learn more about PH, please go to the Pulmonary Hypertension Association website. It has a lot of information! :)
Comments
First time here for me. .I came from a link on stupidsheetguys journal. I am going to make a coffe and read back on your journal. My name is Colleen too!!