Talking to Your Doctor About Screening for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Ask Your Doctor for Annual Screening

Being at risk for PAH, early screening and possible diagnosis are essential. People with PAH associated with scleroderma can decline rapidly. That is why it is important to diagnose PAH as early as possible. The sooner you are diagnosed, the sooner your doctor may be able to help manage your PAH.1

Talk with your doctor about getting screened every year for PAH associated with scleroderma. Your doctor can order screening tests as recommended by professional medical guidelines and PAH specialists.2-4*

Because PAH can begin before you notice it, annual screening is 
an important tool that can help your doctor catch it early.
4,5

Support for People With Scleroderma and PAH

Additional support is available from people who know what it’s like to have scleroderma and PAH.

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Benefits of Screening

Regular screening and early diagnosis may improve outcomes in people with PAH associated with scleroderma.6*

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*Recommendations for annual PAH screening of people with systemic sclerosis are included in the 2015 European Society of Cardiology/European Respiratory Society Guidelines, proceedings from the 6th World Symposium of Pulmonary Hypertension, and results of a consensus survey of experts in the field of PAH and scleroderma.

References: 1. McLaughlin V, Humbert M, Coghlan G, Nash P, Steen V. Pulmonary arterial hypertension: the most devastating vascular complication of systemic sclerosis. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2009;48(Suppl 3):iii25-iii31. 2. Galiè N, Humbert M, Vachiery J-L, et al. 2015 ESC/ERS Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary hypertension: the Joint Task Force for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Pulmonary Hypertension of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the European Respiratory Society (ERS). Eur Heart J. 2016;37(1):67-119. 3. Frost A, Badesch D, Gibbs JSR, et al. Diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension. Eur Respir J. 2019;53(1):1801904. doi:10.1183/13993003.01904-2018 4. Khanna D, Gladue H, Channick R, et al. Recommendations for screening and detection of connective-tissue disease associated pulmonary arterial hypertension. Arthritis Rheum. 2013;65(12):3194-3201. 5. Coghlan JG, Denton CP, Grünig E, et al; DETECT study group. Evidence-based detection of pulmonary arterial hypertension in systemic sclerosis: the DETECT study. Ann Rheum Dis. 2014;73(7):1340-1349. 6. Humbert M, Yaici A, de Groote P, et al. Screening for pulmonary arterial hypertension in patients with systemic sclerosis: clinical characteristics at diagnosis and long-term survival. Arthritis Rheum. 2011;63(11):3522-3530.