King Backs Legislation to Advance Medical Research for Pulmonary Hypertension

Press Release

U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today announced his cosponsorship of legislation that aims to better support people living with pulmonary hypertension (PH). The Pulmonary Hypertension Research and Diagnosis Act would help improve health outcomes for people by advancing medical research and improving care for PH patients. PH is a rare, debilitating disease that affects the arteries of the lungs and can lead to heart failure. According to the Centers for Disease Control, it is estimated that about 100 people in Maine die from PH every year.

"Pulmonary hypertension is a devastating disease, often robbing a seemingly healthy person of their most basic abilities," Senator King said. "And while have made progress in understanding PH over the last few years, there's still more we can do as we work towards a cure. I'm hopeful this legislation, through its collaborative approach, will lead to improved research and earlier diagnoses, and ultimately better support for people across Maine who live with PH every day."

The Pulmonary Hypertension Research and Diagnosis Act would ensure that the federal investment in research is directly leading to prolonged life and improved quality of life for PH patients, with the secondary effect of lowering health care expenses for patients by reducing the rate of disability and the need for organ transplantation.

More specifically, the legislation directs the Department of Health and Human Services to establish an Interagency Pulmonary Hypertension Coordinating Committee for a period of five years. The Committee would bring together experts from federal agencies, the patient community, the caregiver community, and the advocacy community to collaborate and coordinate all efforts related to PH, which would help leverage existing federal resources to more effectively and efficiently advance medical research and improve care. The bill also requires a series of reports to Congress on PH and the progress being made to address the impact of the disease. For more information on the legislation, click HERE.

Pulmonary hypertension is a debilitating, and often fatal, progressive condition where blood pressure in the lungs rises to dangerously high levels. In PH patients, blood flow between the heart and lungs is blocked or constricted. As a result, the heart must pump harder, causing it to enlarge and potentially fail. PH can be idiopathic, occurring without a known cause, or be secondary to other conditions, such as scleroderma, lupus, blood clots, and sickle cell disease. PH impacts individuals of all races and ages. While no cure exists, treatment options are available to help minimize the effects. Commonly diagnosed as asthma, current research efforts focus on finding quicker, less invasive ways to diagnose the disease.

The bill was originally introduced by Senator Bob Casey (D-Penn.) and is supported by The Pulmonary Hypertension Association, the American Lung Association, the American Medical Association, the American Association for Respiratory Care, and the American Thoracic Society.

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