Dear friends,

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) affects millions of people across the globe. To recognize the effects of PH and raise awareness of our common goals, the Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) will join 80 PH organizations throughout May for a global awareness campaign.

Beginning on World PH Day, May 5, we will advocate for earlier PH diagnosis and greater access to treatment and care.

On World PH Day, we look at PH from a global perspective. In the United States, people with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and left heart disease represent 71% of all cases of PH.

But that’s not the case in many other countries. In Africa and Asia, for example, schistosomiasis is the most common way to acquire PH. Schistosomiasis is a disease spread by a parasite in water used for bathing and recreation.

Although PH-related challenges vary by country or geographic region, the fight is the same globally. We need to broaden recognition of PH symptoms, emphasize the importance of early diagnosis, improve access to quality care and effective treatments, and identify trusted, credible informational and educational resources.

Wherever you are, I encourage you to share your experience to help make our vision of a world without PH a reality. By sharing your stories, you can strengthen our social media campaigns and advocacy efforts.

We need you to help build awareness among health care professionals and the general public to ensure people with PH receive timely, accurate diagnosis and treatment. There is power in numbers: The more people who know about PH, the easier it will become to recognize symptoms for earlier diagnosis. We need more allies to join our fight to defeat PH.

Increased awareness also contributes to greater funding for research to develop and improve treatment, as well increased access to available therapies.

We made it easy for you to join us in marking World PH Day. Throughout May, PHA will share photos, stories and social media messages linked by an image of a heart-shaped globe. The heart-shaped globe, chosen by PH associations throughout the world, symbolizes unity and the need for greater PH awareness.

Please visit our toolkit with easy-to-translate English-language material to:

  • Encourage people to photograph themselves with PH awareness messages.
  • Change your social media profile and cover photos to this year’s World PH Day images.
  • Share and repost participating organizations’ World PH Day campaign posts.
  • Adapt the news release template for your organization.
  • Post the World PH Day graphics included in the kit.

We look forward to reading your stories, sharing your social media posts and increasing world focus on PH awareness.

Thank you for joining us in promoting this important day and helping us achieve our mission to extend and improve the lives of those affected by PH. As always, feel free to share additional feedback with me.

With gratitude and respect,