Patients to Benefit from New Web site
on Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH)
ALLSCHWIL, SWITZERLAND – Information
on PAH, written specifically for patients, has been
launched on www.PAH-info.com/patients
as part of an international awareness campaign supported
by Actelion Pharmaceuticals.
The campaign aims to raise awareness of the signs and
symptoms of PAH and to improve the number of patients
appropriately diagnosed and treated. At the heart of
the campaign is www.PAH-info.com,
a Web site dedicated to providing patients and healthcare
professionals with accurate and continuously updated
information on PAH.
Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension is a life-limiting
disease of the pulmonary arteries which connect the
lungs to the heart, and it affects an estimated 100,000–200,000
people around the world. Diagnosis and treatment is
often delayed as the early symptoms of PAH—such
as breathlessness, chest tightness and fatigue—can
be mild and are common to many other conditions such
as asthma or anemia.
“Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension affects people
of all nations, races, and cultures. Easy-to-use and
accurate resources are crucial in educating patients
and their families about PAH, medical developments and
other relevant news. The Pulmonary Hypertension
Association (PHA) therefore welcomes the launch of www.PAH-info.com/patients
and congratulates Actelion on their new site,”
said Mr Rino Aldrighetti, President of PHA (U.S.),
the U.S based association which works closely with domestic
and international PAH communities to provide support,
education, advocacy and awareness of the disease.
Mr Bruno Kopp, the current vice president of PHA Europe,
also believes the new Web site will be a valuable resource
for patients and healthcare professionals. “Pulmonary
Arterial Hypertension is a serious and rare disease
but current treatment options have significantly improved
the outlook for patients. As an educational resource,
we expect this Web site will play an important role
in helping to increase the number of correctly diagnosed
patients and encourage best practice in the management
and treatment of PAH. One of the main aims of PHA Europe
is to continue to set up and develop international PAH
support associations and this new Web site is a very
exciting and useful tool in bringing about more awareness
and information.”
Topics covered in the patient sections of www.PAH-info.com:
- Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: what is
it?
- Is Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension very common?
- What causes Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension?
- What are common symptoms of Pulmonary Arterial
Hypertension?
- How is Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension classified?
- How do physicians diagnose Pulmonary Arterial
Hypertension?
- What can be done to treat Pulmonary Arterial
Hypertension?
The Web site’s patient section is supported by
high-quality resources such as an extensive list of
worldwide patient associations and professional health
organizations and additional sources of information.
Patients and other users are also able to register for
email updates that inform them when new information
has been added to the website.
Notes to editors:
Actelion Ltd
Actelion Ltd is a biopharmaceutical company
with its corporate headquarters in Allschwil/Basel,
Switzerland. Actelion's first drug Tracleer®,
an orally available dual endothelin receptor antagonist,
is approved for the treatment of pulmonary arterial
hypertension (PAH) and made available by Actelion subsidiaries
in the United States, the European Union, Japan, Australia,
Canada, Switzerland and other markets worldwide. Actelion
markets Tracleer® through its own subsidiaries
in key markets worldwide, including the United States
(based in South San Francisco), the European Union as
well as Japan, Canada, Australia and Switzerland.
Actelion, founded in late 1997, is a leading player
in innovative science related to the endothelium—the
single layer of cells separating every blood vessel
from the blood stream. Actelion focuses on the
discovery, development and marketing of innovative drugs
for significant unmet medical needs. Actelion
shares are traded on the SWX Swiss Exchange (ticker
symbol: ATLN).
Online information on pulmonary arterial hypertension
(PAH): www.pah-info.com
Further information on PAH is available on www.pah-info.com,
a Web site with dedicated sections for both physicians
and patients. Registered users of the site will also
receive updates as new information becomes available.
PAH-info.com is part of an international PAH awareness
campaign supported by Actelion Pharmaceuticals and has
been created to provide healthcare professionals and
patients with accurate and continuously updated information
on PAH. The website contains information on symptoms,
causes, diagnosis and current treatment options in separate
sections for healthcare professionals and patients.
It also includes a section on Systemic Sclerosis (also
known as scleroderma or SSc); a chronic connective tissue
disease where PAH is reported in approximately 16% of
patients. The website is supported by high-quality resources
such as links to an extensive list of worldwide patient
associations and professional health organisations and
additional sources of information.
For further information please contact:
Media contact:
Annabel Lee
Packer Forbes Communications
+44 (0)20 8772 1551
annabel@packerforbes.com
Actelion contact:
Matthias Hess
Global Brand Manager, Tracleer
Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd
+41 61 565 59 29
matthias.hess@actelion.com
www.actelion.com
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