How PAH may affect you

If you're like most newly diagnosed pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) patients, you may be overwhelmed. Feelings of shock or uncertainty are common. At the same time, you probably have questions about PAH.

It is important that you understand your disease and how to live with it. You may need to adapt in a number of ways by making lifestyle changes and adjustments.

The best way to get answers about managing PAH is to talk with your healthcare team. Your healthcare team is most familiar with your medical case history, and they are most qualified to give you the best advice.

What can I expect to feel if I have PAH?

PAH symptoms are caused by both a lack of oxygen due to narrowed blood vessels in the lungs and increased stress on the heart. These symptoms may not be obvious at first, but over time they can become more limiting.

Symptoms of PAH may include¹*:

• Breathlessness or shortness of breath (dyspnea), the most common symptom
• Chronic fatigue (feeling tired all the time)
• Dizziness, especially when climbing stairs or when standing up
• Fainting (syncope)
• Swollen ankles and legs (edema)
• Chest pain, especially during physical activity (angina)

Without treatment, patients may experience increased breathlessness, so that even walking short distances may become difficult.²

*Tracleer does not improve all of the symptoms of PAH. To learn more about Tracleer, click here.

What else can I expect?

While no physician has a crystal ball that can accurately predict how your disease will progress in the long run, a great deal has changed for the better in PAH treatment in the last decade. There are effective treatments that may improve some of the symptoms of PAH.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
Because of the risks associated with Tracleer, this medication may be prescribed by your doctor only through the Tracleer Access Program.

Liver damage: Tracleer can cause serious liver damage, including in rare cases liver failure and, in situations with regular liver testing, unexplained liver cirrhosis. So you must have a blood test to check your liver function before you start Tracleer and each month after that. Call your doctor right away if you have any of these symptoms of liver problems: nausea, vomiting, fever, unusual tiredness, abdominal (stomach area) pain, or yellowing of the skin or the whites of your eyes (jaundice).

Serious birth defects: Tracleer is very likely to cause serious birth defects. It is important not to be or to become pregnant while taking Tracleer or one month after stopping treatment and to have a pregnancy test before you start the drug and each month thereafter. It is very important for you to use reliable forms of birth control while taking Tracleer. Hormonal contraceptives should not be used alone because they may not be effective in patients taking Tracleer.

Do not take Tracleer with glyburide because it may increase your chance of liver injury. Do not take Tracleer with cyclosporine-A because it may increase your chance of side effects.

Please see Additional Safety Information.
Please see full Prescribing Information, including BOXED WARNING and Medication Guide.

Learn more about treatments for PAH

REFERENCE:

1. Barst, RJ, McGoon M, Torbicki A, et al. Diagnosis and differential assessment of pulmonary arterial hypertension. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2004;43(Suppl S):40S–47S.
2. McLaughlin VV. ACCF/AHA 2009 expert consensus document on pulmonary hypertension. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2009;53:1573-619.