Pulmonary Hypertension Comprehensive Care Center
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Columbia's Pulmonary Hypertension Comprehensive Care Center, located in New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, is the largest program of its kind in the United States. Our multidisciplinary team offers the most advanced diagnostics and targeted medical treatments for all patients—both pediatric and adult—with all types of pulmonary hypertension and associated right heart failure. Ours is one of the few centers in the world that offers such comprehensive care for patients of all ages with this disease. Through our Center we offer specialized medical treatments as well as novel innovative approaches to treatment.
Pulmonary hypertension is a rare and serious disease that affects the smallest blood vessels in the lungs. It can cause permanent damage to the lungs and lead to life-threatening right-sided heart failure. There is no cure for pulmonary hypertension, but with proper diagnosis and treatment we can greatly improve our patients' lives. Treatment options for this complex condition have rapidly expanded over the past decade and the Pulmonary Hypertension Comprehensive Care Center is at the forefront of these important developments.
At Columbia, you or your child will have access to the most recent treatments and clinical trials, along with compassionate care from a team whose members have dedicated themselves to helping patients with this disease.
Our Approach to Care
We are a comprehensive care center, accredited by the Pulmonary Hypertension Association, which means that we have the resources and expertise needed to accurately diagnose and effectively use the most current treatment options for every patient with pulmonary hypertension, from newborns to adults. We treat all forms of pulmonary hypertension, including idiopathic pulmonary hypertension (no known cause), pulmonary arterial hypertension, chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension, and secondary forms of pulmonary hypertension that are caused by other underlying conditions.
Pulmonary hypertension is complex, and each case is unique. We take an individualized approach to diagnosis and treatment, developing a plan for each patient based on his or her particular needs. This may include genetic testing, medications, specialized surgeries, and clinical trials. No other center in the country offers as broad a range of options, expertise, and specialized care for this disease.
We are committed to educating and supporting our patients and their families as they navigate the challenges posed by this disease. Our team includes nurses and child life specialists who are there to provide information, support, and care for you and your family.
Specialized Treatments
Depending on the type and severity of your or your child’s condition, treatments for pulmonary hypertension can range from medical therapies to surgery—including lung transplant surgery when other therapies fail. Our center brings together pediatric and adult medical and surgical teams who work hand in hand, with expertise in new, innovative approaches not offered elsewhere.
We are one of a few programs in the United States to offer a lifesaving surgical treatment called pulmonary thromboendarterectomy (PTE), for patients whose pulmonary hypertension is due to clotting in their lungs, a condition called chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). When an experienced team such as ours performs this surgery, the disease can be reversed.
The lung transplant team at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Irving Medical Center is among the best in the country. We work hand in hand with our extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) program, which has been designated platinum status by ELSO. ECMO is a life support technique for patients with advanced lung failure that can provide a bridge to patients waiting for a transplant. We also use ECMO to enable patients to safely get through non-transplant surgeries when needed and to recover from an acute illness, such as pneumonia. ECMO can significantly improve outcome in end-stage pulmonary hypertension patients.
Our team is continually researching and developing new therapies, including a novel approach to surgery using a modified Potts shunt for end-stage right heart failure. As part of a world-renowned medical center, our patients have access to the newest and most advanced treatments that aren't offered anywhere else.
Pulmonary Hypertension Treatment
A Team of Experts
Our team, led by Erika Berman Rosenzweig, MD, includes both pediatric and adult cardiologists, pulmonologists, rheumatologists, anesthesiologists, genetic counselors, and surgeons.
