November is Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) Month. To kick off this month, we’re featuring Nola, who candidly shares her journey living with both scleroderma and PAH in this video.
“Being told you have not one, but two rare diseases is difficult,” she says. “I had no idea what either one of these illnesses were. Awareness of these diseases helps get better research and can give you a better quality of life.”
PAH affects 8%-17% of people with scleroderma and can lead to serious health challenges, especially when diagnosis is delayed. Scleroderma can cause scar tissue in the lungs and thickening in the walls of blood vessels that carry blood to and from the heart to the lungs. When the blood is less able to flow smoothly, it can lead to PAH.
“Early diagnosis can help,” Nola says. Initial symptoms can be subtle and often mistaken for other conditions, like asthma or general fatigue, which is why PAH is sometimes overlooked. If you have scleroderma, your doctor should be monitoring your heart and lungs regularly. Early detection can lead to more effective treatments and better outcomes for those living with PAH.
Thank you, Nola, for sharing your story and helping raise awareness around PAH and scleroderma. This film was a collaborative effort with @projectscleroderma and @srfcure.
Special thanks to our sponsor for PAH Awareness Month, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson.
