For Pulmonary Hypertension Awareness Month, the Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) will continue the tradition of spreading pulmonary hypertension (PH) awareness, resources and activities that everyone can participate in throughout the month of November.

This year’s theme, “PHacing the Future day by day,” will include the return of our award-winning interactive PH Awareness Month calendar. Each day reveals an activity, fact or resource about pulmonary hypertension and provides tools you can use to spread PH awareness. We encourage the PH community to share resources and stories with your friends, family, media, elected officials and the public so they can learn about PH risk factors, symptoms and diagnosis.

Throughout November, we will focus on various types of PH to raise awareness of this complex and life-threatening disease. Some highlights of the month include:

  • Join us in raising CTEPH awareness on CTEPH Awareness Day on Wednesday, Nov. 9.
  • For our Day of Action, Nov. 17, we encourage the PH community to join us by signing this petition asking Congress for oxygen access reform. For more way to get involved, visit PHA’s Action Center.
  • Check out our toolkit for a customizable press release, social media content and virtual fundraising opportunities you can use to spread PH awareness and ultimately a cure for PH.
  • Be sure to check the PH Awareness Month Calendar daily. The calendar reveals new content every day to help you spread awareness about PH. As an extra treat, look out for some PHA2022 session recordings that will be released throughout the month!

What is pulmonary hypertension?

PH is a progressive lung disease in which patients experience high blood pressure in the lungs. Arteries in the lungs of people with PH can become damaged, narrowed or stiff, putting pressure on the right side of the heart and causing it to work extra hard to push blood through those arteries. This in turn can cause right heart failure and death.

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Pulmonary hypertension quick facts

PH affects people of all ages, races and ethnic backgrounds. Although anyone can get PH, there are risk factors that make some people more likely to develop the disease.

The symptoms of PH can be mistaken for other diseases. The most common symptoms of PH also can be caused by other more common medical problems, such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). People who think they may have PH should get a diagnosis from a PH specialist.

Not all PH is the same. There are five groups of PH based on different causes. People with PH can experience shortness of breath, dizziness, fatigue, chest pain, heart palpitations or edema (swelling). Common symptoms associated with all types of PH (the numbers below are reported for pulmonary arterial hypertension) include:

Brown LM, et al. Chest. 2011;140(1):19-26

There is no cure for PH but there are treatments that can manage PH and help patients feel better. In the following video, Javier Jimenez, M.D., Ph.D., FACC, shares how pulmonary hypertension can be treated.

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