30 Days of PH: Life Lessons From Charlie Brown - Pulmonary Hypertension News
30 Days of PH: Life Lessons From Charlie Brown - Pulmonary Hypertension News |
| 30 Days of PH: Life Lessons From Charlie Brown - Pulmonary Hypertension News Posted: 03 Nov 2020 07:00 AM PST
Day 3 of 30 Days of PH This is Brian's story @zipptang Charles M. Schulz, the creator of the Peanuts comic strip, penned this conversation between Linus and Charlie Brown. Linus: Nothing goes on forever. All good things must come to an end… Charlie Brown: When do the good things start? It's odd to get wisdom from a children's comic, but Charlie Brown's response may be stranger still. Like his eternal optimism that Lucy will allow him to kick the football, Charlie Brown is looking forward to the good times to come. Whether you're a pessimist or an optimist, I'm sure you can see that Linus and Charlie Brown both have valid viewpoints. When my oldest son, Cullen, was 8 years old, his doctors diagnosed him with a life-threatening condition called Pulmonary Hypertension (PH). In a flash, the healthy, carefree good times we had experienced prior to his diagnosis had come to an end. Since his diagnosis, we tried to remain optimistic. Our hopes and love for our child was the only thing that got us through the countless trips to the hospital, doctor appointments, prescription changes, surgeries, and other hardships that had become our life. We met many other PHamilies living with the same challenges, and together, we cherished successes and mourned any setbacks. Sadly, we lost too many of these PHamily members when the disease took them. Cullen received a heart and double lung transplant when he was 14. We never forget the donor's life-saving sacrifice, or the pain of loss felt by his family. Although Cullen no longer has PH complications to deal with, living post-transplant is no walk in the park. His suppressed immune system makes him susceptible to illness and rejection is a constant threat. He is likely to need another transplant when/if his new organs fail. Our experiences have taught us to treasure the moments we have together. Look for and celebrate even the small victories and remember that there are more good things to come. As Victor Hugo said, "Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise." Finally, and perhaps most importantly, don't be afraid to say "I love you". Follow us on social media!  Colleen Steele was born and raised in New Jersey and received a Bachelor of Arts in English from Immaculata University in 1994. Currently, she lives in Washington state with her husband and two sons. Her oldest child was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension when he was 8. At the age of 14, he received a heart and double-lung transplant. He has experienced many bumps in the road but for the most part, he is doing well and living life to the fullest. Colleen's love for writing, experience advocating for her son, and determination to spread PH awareness inspired her to become a columnist and forums moderator for Pulmonary Hypertension News in 2019. In her, "Life As A Caregiver" column, Colleen is open and honest about caring for her son, his experiences living with PH, and life post-transplant. It is her ambition to educate and inspire others facing similar challenges that her family has battled and survived. × Colleen Steele was born and raised in New Jersey and received a Bachelor of Arts in English from Immaculata University in 1994. Currently, she lives in Washington state with her husband and two sons. Her oldest child was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension when he was 8. At the age of 14, he received a heart and double-lung transplant. He has experienced many bumps in the road but for the most part, he is doing well and living life to the fullest. Colleen's love for writing, experience advocating for her son, and determination to spread PH awareness inspired her to become a columnist and forums moderator for Pulmonary Hypertension News in 2019. In her, "Life As A Caregiver" column, Colleen is open and honest about caring for her son, his experiences living with PH, and life post-transplant. It is her ambition to educate and inspire others facing similar challenges that her family has battled and survived. Latest Posts  |
| Pulmonary hypertension: Why creating awareness is key in Africa - Medical Xpress Posted: 09 Oct 2020 12:00 AM PDT  Pulmonary hypertension is elevated blood pressure that occurs exclusively in the lungs. It is a deadly condition that affects an estimated 75 million people worldwide. Around 80% of them live in low- and middle-income countries. In a recent literature review my colleagues and I found that the prevalence of pulmonary hypertension in Africa can range anything from 10% to 68%. Pulmonary hypertension is completely different from systemic hypertension, a disease many people develop between the ages of 55-70. With pulmonary hypertension, cells in the blood vessels of the lung become cancerous as they continue to multiply or grow uncontrollably. This makes the vessels narrower than normal, leading to high blood pressure in the lung. The difference between these two conditions means that conventional hypertension medications are not effective against pulmonary hypertension—a misconception among some primary healthcare doctors. It's not understood why certain patients develop it and others not. Pulmonary hypertension is considered to be a medical consequence of several other conditions. These include left heart disease, HIV infection, tuberculosis (TB), bilharzia or schistosomiasis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease such as asthma, emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Patients with any of these diseases are at risk of developing pulmonary hypertension. In South Africa, the risk of pulmonary hypertension is increased because of high levels of HIV, TB, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Even if patients are cured from TB, some will later die of pulmonary hypertension. Many people with HIV are also at risk of developing pulmonary hypertension and dying from it. Thousands of people are at risk of dying from pulmonary hypertension considering the high prevalence of TB and HIV on the continent. To complicate this even further, pulmonary hypertension is not easily picked up by primary healthcare doctors due to the unspecific nature of the symptoms. This could lead to the misconception that the patient might have a persistent cold or flu, to only later—when it is too late—find out that it was pulmonary hypertension. With statistics suggesting that thousands of people might die from this disease, something has to be done. Advocacy could potentially increase awareness for, and clinical interest in pulmonary hypertension. This is especially important among clinicians and researchers in the primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare sectors. Raising awareness could lead to the much-needed shift in thinking similar to what has driven established pulmonary hypertension centers around the world. Challenges Symptoms of pulmonary hypertension include shortness of breath, inability to do simple physical activities such as picking up items from the floor or walking up stairs. Other symptoms can be chest pain and a persistent cough. These symptoms are not specific for pulmonary hypertension, and this means that the condition is often misdiagnosed or confused with other diseases, leading to a delayed diagnosis. Delayed diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension has long been recognized as a significant challenge in low- and middle-income countries where there are limited resources. Patients could be seen by a primary healthcare physician for months or years and still not get the appropriate diagnosis. This delay is sadly fatal because even specialized treatments are ineffective at a progressed stage of the disease. The number of people suffering from pulmonary hypertension without getting a proper diagnosis or better treatment is unknown. There's a lack of awareness in the primary healthcare sector and gross under-diagnosis due to a lack of resources. The disease may be more prevalent than is frequently described in the literature. Many doctors are also overwhelmed with the burden of infectious diseases in low- and middle-income countries. These working conditions can draw attention away from detecting pulmonary hypertension at an early stage. The gold standard for diagnosing pulmonary hypertension is right heart catheterisation. But this is an invasive technique, during which a catheter is inserted into the right side of the heart through an incision made in the neck of the patient. This procedure is not always conducted in less fortunate countries, and less accessible in remote areas where patients are far from a cardiologist with experience in right heart catheterisation. In the past, patients with pulmonary hypertension have died within three to five years of diagnosis. But with advancements in drug development, this has changed, and the use of different combinations of specialized drugs can increase patient survival for up to nine years. But there's a challenge. Many of these specialized drugs are expensive and not available in low- and middle-income countries. Sadly, a lot of patients with pulmonary hypertension die as a result. This further highlights a global need for better treatment options. These options must be affordable and accessible to patients from low- and middle-income countries. Opportunities There is an opportunity to research, define and investigate factors that cause pulmonary hypertension in low- and middle-income countries. Here, the unique causes of pulmonary hypertension—uncommon in developed countries—are more prevalent. In areas where access to investigations is limited, pragmatic and potentially non-invasive diagnostic and treatment methods could be adopted. This may lower the barriers to treatment. It is important that doctors adjust diagnostic protocols to determine an earlier diagnosis, especially in the context of low- and middle-income countries. This has led to the observation that a cheaper, non-invasive technique, heart scan (similar to an ultrasound scan done on pregnant women), is sufficient to confirm pulmonary hypertension in patients of countries where right heart catheterization is not possible. An overview of the total number of pulmonary hypertension cases—newly diagnoses and existing—is important. This can be achieved by the use of national data registries and by doing frequent review of national patient databases. Explore further Provided by The Conversation This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Citation: Pulmonary hypertension: Why creating awareness is key in Africa (2020, October 9) retrieved 3 November 2020 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-10-pulmonary-hypertension-awareness-key-africa.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.  |
| You are subscribed to email updates from "what is pulmonary hypertension" - Google News. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
Comments
Post a Comment