ABOUT PULMONARY HYPERTENSION

Pulmonary hypertension, or high blood pressure of the lungs, is often misdiagnosed because its symptoms, such as fatigue, dizziness and shortness of breath, are identical to those of other diseases.

Sometimes, pulmonary hypertension is caused by another disease, such as emphysema, heart disease or lupus. The treatment then is to deal with the root disease.

Arterial hypertension is a separate disease and it’s far rarer, affecting about 30,000 Americans. Although there’s no cure, patients can live for years with the disease, thanks to new medications. When drugs cease to be effective, a lung transplant is the only cure.

A recent change in the regulations governing lung donation service areas has addressed disparities in organ availability, said

Dr. Selim Arcasoy, medical program director of the Columbia University Medical Center lung transplantation program. Instead of being restricted by service area borders, organs now are offered to patients within a 250-mile radius, with organs going to the sickest patients first.

The Pulmonary Hypertension Association accredits centers with expertise in diagnosing and treating the disease. Florida’s accredited center is at the Mayo

Clinic in Jacksonville. For information about the center, call 904-9530853 or visit tinyurl.com/ yc3djso4

To become an organ donor in Florida, visit organize.org or donatelifeflorida.org.

You can also sign up when you apply for or renew your driver’s license at a local Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles office.