Going to high school with pulmonary hypertension means you may miss classes or tests for doctor appointments, hospital stays or just bad days. When you explain PH to your teachers, they will be better prepared to help you succeed. 

Danielle Epstein was diagnosed with PH in elementary school. “When I was in middle school, my guidance counselor would send my teachers an email explaining my PH, and that I may not feel well and have to go to the nurse. I felt like many of my teachers never really read the email.” 

When she reached high school, Epstein’s family arranged a face-to-face meeting with her teachers before the school year began.  

“Talking to my teachers really helped because learning about my PH wasn’t just one of their emails, but an actual person who talked to them about what they needed to know,” Epstein says. “Throughout the year, whenever I needed to go to the nurse, my teachers would always ask if I needed someone to walk with me, even if it wasn’t PH-related. I was so happy that they remembered our talk and were taking extra precautions.” 

School Resource Guide

PHA’s School Resource Guide provides materials that you can give to your school nurse, teachers and counselors who will need to be informed about pulmonary hypertension.

School Resource Guide

Meet your teachers and school nurse

Meet with your teachers, principal and nurse face-to-face early in the school year to explain what PH is, how it might impact the school year, and what you need to do if you’re experiencing PH symptoms in class.

The school nurse is your ally. Make sure the nurse is up to date on your medications. Don’t be afraid to go to the nurse’s office if you’re experiencing symptoms.

Plan your absences

If you don’t have a 504 plan or an IEP, meet with your teachers early in the year to discuss how you’ll handle schoolwork if you have to miss school. You might need to have copies of your textbooks at home so you can keep up with the reading, use email to get copies of your homework, or have a classmate take notes for you.

Give yourself the chance to do your best work. If you’re not ready to take a test — because you’ve missed classes for appointments or fallen behind in your homework during illness — talk to your teacher to schedule a make-up test. Explain that you need a few more days to prepare. Show respect and make this request only when you truly need to. If necessary, , get your parents involved or speak with your principal.

Tell your gym teacher about your PH

If you don’t have accommodations in place, a doctor’s note can help if your gym teacher doesn’t “get it.” You also can ask your parents to help explain PH to your gym teacher.

“One of the toughest things to do was get out of gym class. In school so many kids try and get out of gym that my teachers looked at me like just another defiant teenager,” remembers Nicole Turner, who was diagnosed at age 6. “Little did they know I would have given anything to run around and play. My mom and I went to the counselor, but she didn’t understand at first either. We had to get a special doctor’s note explaining PH.”

Some PH pediatricians encourage kids with PH to get involved with sports. Some teens compete in cheerleading, tennis, basketball and many other sports, but doctors advise them to “self-limit” and avoid are contact sports like football.

“It is hard to make a global recommendation [on playing sports] because it really depends on the patient,” says Dunbar Ivy, pediatric cardiologist at University of Colorado Medicine. “If the PH is mild to moderate, we recommend that the patient self-limit. We do not recommend competitive sports with severe PH. It is important to stress an individual approach, which is determined by the physician, patient and parents.”

Go with confidence

Turner’s advice to teens with PH? “To all the other kids out there growing up with PH, try to be straight forward and confident when talking to your teachers. Stand up for yourself and don’t take no for an answer. You know your limits and don’t let anyone tell you any different.

“Most teachers are very understanding and supportive so if you do have to miss school because of your PH, make sure you keep in contact with your teachers. It shows them you care about your studies and would love to be sitting in class rather than at home or in the hospital because of PH.”