UofL’s Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Disorders Medicine is launching a multidisciplinary program for the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary hypertension.

Patients with pulmonary hypertension have high blood pressure in the arteries in the lungs, which forces the heart to work harder to pump blood through the lungs. Over time, the heart can weaken or fail completely.

Treatment for the uncommon but serious condition is available at only a few centers in the nation.

The new program will provide diagnosis, consultative and ongoing treatment, information and education for individuals with pulmonary hypertension and their families. It will be directed by UofL faculty members Juan Guardiola, M.D., and Rodney Folz, M.D., Ph.D., as well as chief fellow Jinesh Mehta, M.D.

All are board-certified in pulmonary disease.

Experts in cardiology, rheumatology and sleep medicine, as well as nurse educators and home health professionals will provide individualized, multidisciplinary treatment to individuals living in Louisville, central and western Kentucky, and southern Indiana. The pulmonary hypertension program also includes clinical and basic research programs, supported in part by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, a component of the National Institutes of Health.

Key areas of investigation include causes of and treatments for pulmonary hypertension in patients with sickle cell disease and the basic causes of pulmonary artery hypertension associated with chronic hypoxia.

For more information on the program, call (502) 852-5841.