Pulmonary Hypertension Awareness Month

WHEREAS, the health of our community’s people is the foundation for a caring and productive society, and our future rests with our ability to adequately treat, and ultimately find cures for, individuals who are afflicted with a variety of illnesses including pulmonary hypertension; and

WHEREAS, pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a rare disorder causing intolerable blood pressure levels in the arteries between the lungs and heart; and

WHEREAS, in 2001, there were 3,000 PH patients receiving treatment from 100 PH treating-physicians; in just five years, those numbers had grown to an estimated 30,000 patients and 3,000 treating physicians; and

WHEREAS, there are at least as many undiagnosed as diagnosed patients; and

WHEREAS, without treatment, PH patients live an average of 2.8 years past diagnosis; with early diagnosis and effective treatment, the disorder can be managed for twenty years or more; and

WHEREAS, education can help with early diagnosis and funding for research can help find a cure; and

WHEREAS, the Pulmonary Hypertension Association is a nonprofit organization that seeks ways to prevent and cure pulmonary hypertension, and to provide hope for the PH community through support, education, advocacy, and awareness:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Robert Bentley, Governor of Alabama, do hereby proclaim the month of November 2012 as

Pulmonary Hypertension Awareness Month

in the state of Alabama, and urge all citizens to recognize the seriousness of this disease and the meritorious work of the Pulmonary Hypertension Association to find a cure.

Given Under My Hand and the Great Seal of the Office of the Governor at the State Capitol in the City of Montgomery on the 9th day of October 2012.

 

Robert Bentley, Governor