Pulmonary hypertension support group meets monthly

PROVIDENCE – A diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension can leave patients feeling fragile and fearful about performing many routine physical activities, and patients and their families often have questions about living with the condition. Providers from University Medicine’s Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care and Rhode Island Hospital Pulmonary Hypertension Center developed the Rhode Island Hospital Pulmonary Hypertension Support Group, the mission of which is to provide education, support and advocacy while fostering a local peer-to-peer network.

The Rhode Island Pulmonary Hypertension Support Group meets monthly, with such discussion topics as therapies, exercise program safety, understanding oxygen therapy, obtaining insurance coverage, smoking cessation, self-advocacy and raising awareness.

Pulmonary hypertension is a rare blood vessel disorder of the lung in which pressure in the pulmonary artery (the blood vessel that leads from the heart to the lungs) rises above normal levels. Symptoms include shortness of breath with exertion, fatigue, chest pain, dizzy spells and fainting. ??

Patients with congenital heart disease, connective tissue disease, systematic lupus erythematosus, HIV, sickle cell anemia, liver disease and those exposed to certain drugs and/or toxins can develop pulmonary hypertension, which may also occur in patients with other chronic heart and lung diseases. It is a progressive and incurable disease, but several drugs can improve patients’ lives and many more treatments are on the horizon. With early and proper medical diagnosis, a patient’s quality of life and survival continues to improve, and many researchers predict that a cure will eventually be discovered.?? ??

- Advertisement -

Support group meetings are typically held on the second Saturday of the month from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. in the Ambulatory Patient Care Building, seventh-floor conference room, 593 Eddy St., Providence.

For support group updates and the calendar of events, visit www.phassociation.org. For more information, contact Mary Whittenhall, support group leader, at RIHospitalPHCenter@lifespan.org or 444-0008.

No posts to display