Cleveland Clinic Florida
 

Pulmonary Hypertension

Clinic

 

 

Pulmonary Hypertension refers to increased pressure in the pulmonary vasculature. A multitude of reasons exist for this increase in pressure:

 

  • Idiopathic (Unknown etiology)
  • Dietary pills such as Phen-Fen (Fenfluramine)
  • Familial
  • Collagen vascular diseases: specially Scleroderma
  • HIV
  • Obstructive sleep apnea

 

Patients with collagen vascular diseases such as Scleroderma or rheumatoid arthritis displaying shortness of breath should be evaluated for presence of pulmonary hypertension. This is most expeditiously accomplished through echocardiogram done in a center specializing in estimating pulmonary pressures.

 

Similarly, HIV patients suffering from shortness of breath should also be evaluated pulmonary hypertension.

 

(Downloadable Brochure)

 

Pulmonary Hypertension Clinic

 

Pulmonary hypertension is a complex and demanding condition. We, at the Clinic, are committed to providing our patients with state of the art attentive care. The Pulmonary Hypertension Clinic benefits from the comprehensive support services provided by the outstanding staff of the Cleveland Clinic Florida. We will work with drug companies, purveyors and insurance companies to assure that our patients receive the most efficacious treatment regimens available.

 

We are committed to help other medical practitioners with expert evaluation and treatment of Pulmonary Hypertensions in their patient’s. We seek to create close ties with area physicians to jointly care for this aspect of their patients’ treatment. Reports of all activities will be sent to the referring physician.

 

 

Services Provided

 

 

Initial Evaluation:

 

Comprehensive evaluation includes:

  • Extended discussions with patients to elucidate the history of disease
  • Extensive Blood work to evaluate for non-idiopathic causes of pulmonary hypertension
  • High resolution CAT Scan of chest to rule out other lung diseases
  • Detailed Pulmonary Function in our PFT laboratory
  • Cardiac Imaging including expert reading of Echocardiograms and Cardiac MRI’s
  • Evaluation of Sleep apnea by our well established Sleep Disorders Center to exclude sleep disorders as a source of Pulmonary Hypertension
  • Ventilation/ Perfusion Scanning in our state of art nuclear camera and Pulmonary Angiogram by our dedicated interventional radiologist, if necessary
  • Right/ Left sided cardiac catheterization by experienced Interventional cardiologists

 

Treatment:

 

Institution of detailed treatment plan with close and dedicated follow-up.

State-of-the-art Therapy:

  • Anti-coagulation: Warfarin (CoumadinÒ), enrolment in CoumadinÒ Clinic
  • Calcium Channel Blockade, if indicated
  • Sildenafil (RevatioÒ)
  • Bosentan (TracleerÒ)
  • Amrisentan (LetairisÒ)
  • Inhaled Iloprost (Ventavis)Ò
  • Placement of Hickman Catheter if continuous infusion is necessary, by our expert interventional Radiologist/ Vascular surgeons
  • Epoprostenol (FlolanÒ) Administration

 

 

Contact Information:

 

Clinical Staff:

 

Franck F. Rahaghi, MD, MHS, Director

Laurence L. Smolley, MD

Eduardo Oliveira, MD

 

Pulmonary HTN Nurse:

Rosanna Benavides

 

Associated Staff:

 

Interventional Cardiology:
Howard S. Bush, MD

Kenneth R. Fromkin, MD

 

Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging:

Michael Shen, MD

 

Associated Laboratories:

·         Echocardiography Laboratory (certified by Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Echocardiography Laboratories. 

·         Peripheral vascular Disease Laboratory (certified by Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Vascular Laboratories. 

·         Sleep and Disordered Breathing Laboratory

·         Coumadin Clinic

 

 

 

Cleveland Clinic Florida

 

2950 Cleveland Clinic Boulevard

Weston, FL 33331

 

Main Number:

954-659-5000

 

Department Number:

954-659-5450

 

To make an appointment:

 

954-6595124

or

1-877-463-2010