The event, held in commemoration of World Pulmonary Hypertension Day 2025, was organised by the Cardiac Community in collaboration with the KB Klub and held under the theme “Sometimes, It’s PH.” Experts emphasised that PH, a life-threatening condition marked by high blood pressure in the lungs, is frequently misdiagnosed due to its overlapping symptoms with more common ailments.
“Not every case of breathlessness is asthma,” warned Dr Oyewole Kushimo, Consultant Cardiologist at Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), who led discussions on recognising early signs of PH. According to him, timely diagnosis can be lifesaving but is often delayed because PH mimics conditions such as asthma or tuberculosis.
Founder of the Cardiac Community and PH advocate, Ayotunde Omitogun, shared her personal journey living with the rare disease. She underscored the need for healthcare practitioners to broaden their diagnostic lens. “Our healthcare system is used to seeing only what it knows, that it fails to see what it doesn’t. And in that gap, people like me, living with a rare disease such as pulmonary hypertension, are left behind,” she said.
Linking pulmonary hypertension with sickle cell disease, which is prevalent in Nigeria, Dr Temitope Quaye of the Department of Haematology and Blood Transfusion at LUTH, along with Consultant Paediatric Cardiologist Dr Peter Igoche of Limi Children’s Hospital, Abuja, highlighted the urgency of integrating PH into diagnostic considerations for sickle cell patients.
They warned that symptoms like fatigue, breathlessness, and persistent coughing in sickle cell patients could be indicators of PH and should not be overlooked. Nigeria, with the highest global burden of sickle cell disease, stands to benefit significantly from enhanced PH screening protocols.
Closing the session, KB Klub Vice President Ayobami Saliu thanked the medical professionals and participants, urging greater vigilance and awareness. “We must continue to educate ourselves and others. Pulmonary hypertension may be rare, but with the right attention, it doesn’t have to be deadly,” he said.
The sensitisation campaign reflects a growing movement within Nigeria’s medical community to bring rare diseases like PH into sharper focus, ensuring no patient is left behind due to misdiagnosis or a lack of awareness.