PHA support services offer connections, knowledge and empowerment. Connect through support groups, peer mentors or our patient and caregiver support line.
It’s not unusual to have questions beyond the medical facts about pulmonary hypertension. You might want to know how other new patients cope with their diagnoses; how other parents handle pediatric PH-specific challenges; or how long-term thrivers manage depression or anxiety.
PHA support services offer several ways for people with PH and loved ones to connect with others in similar situations. We offer in-person and online support groups, Facebook groups, peer mentors and a patient and caregiver support line. You can try any PHA support service to see which helps you most. Some people attend more than one support group, while others feel most comfortable connecting by email or phone.
Support groups provide emotional and physical health benefits. Support groups can reduce participants’ stress, depression and anxiety. They also foster deep connections among the PHA community.
PHA’s peer mentor program connects people with PH and caregivers with others who understand what you’re going through. Connect with someone who identifies with your concerns and shares experiences and resources.
PHA Facebook groups help you feel less isolated when you can’t meet in person.
PHA’s toll-free support line volunteers answer questions, lend a sympathetic ear and guide callers toward resources. Call PHA’s toll-free support line to speak with a volunteer: 800-748-7274.
After a pulmonary hypertension diagnosis, Rebecca Colby Reed Walker found support groups offer connection, shared experiences, and treatment insights.
Support group leader and PHA board member Nicole Creech dedicates one meeting a year to the caregivers who share their time and love with her members. Creech, who was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension due to sickle cell anemia in 2008, leads the group with Evelyn Mitchell.
Olivia Edelen of PHA’s Piedmont PHriends Support Group shares her story in the December 2025 issue of Pathlight magazine.
Gary Bruce co-leads the Pulmonary Hypertension Association Dallas Support Group with his wife Debra Hines-Bruce, whom he met at a PHA conference. He shared his story in the 2023 PHA Annual Report. Read his story in PHA’s Right Heart Blog.
Andrea Redstone-Henry, an exercise specialist at Community Heart and Vascular Hospital in Indianapolis, began helping in the PH clinic this year. Her interest in PH grew, and now she’s a Pulmonary Hypertension Association Volunteer. Read her story in PHA’s Right Heart Blog.
Lala Juarez of Salt Lake City, Utah, was diagnosed with pulmonary arterial hypertension in 2015 after two years of misdiagnosis. Jaurez, who leads the Northern Utah PHA Support Group, received a double lung transplant in 2021.
Learn how to become a support group leader, or start a support group in your area.
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