Lifesavers for Latasha

First, there was shortness of breath. I attributed that to my heart disease for the longest time. Then, there was coughing up blood. That’s when I knew something else was going on with me.

In 2006, after lots of tests, the doctors at Emory diagnosed me with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH). My PAH is secondary to my congenital heart disease. People with primary PAH generally live only a few years after being diagnosed, unless they have a lung transplant.

When I was diagnosed, PAH was still a fairly new disease and medications were just starting to become available. None of the medications cure PAH; they simply help manage the disease. The only cure is a lung transplant.

PAH is high blood pressure in the lungs. At the time I was diagnosed, it could be diagnosed only through a catheterization. Symptoms include shortness of breath, fatigue, and coughing up blood. I’ve been on several different medications over the years to try and manage the PAH. Currently, I’m on two medications for it.

Because I have PAH, I cannot have just a heart transplant. The heart and lung failure teams at Cleveland Clinic discussed heart transplant only, but they believe the new heart would not be able to function with my lungs and the PAH. This is why I have to have a heart and double lung transplant.

For more information on PAH, visit

https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/pulmonary-arterial-hypertension?gad=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwlJimBhAsEiwA1hrp5pRDuqVwIIyisqOFLXiv_zojZsEG7PwIY5atmMbBpCLuYplS6jCAyRoCcg0QAvD_BwE

Or visit https://phassociation.org/patients/aboutph/