A decade ago, Nola Martin was having trouble breathing, and she was gaining weight. She assumed it was simple: She started to focus on improving her diet and getting more exercise, but she wasn’t seeing results.

“Little did I know the situation was a lot more serious than that,” she said.

Martin was diagnosed with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and scleroderma. PAH is a disease of high blood pressure in the lungs. Her PAH was associated with scleroderma, a connective tissue disease that can affect the skin, blood vessels and organs and can cause PAH.

Finding the right care

Martin said that the confusion and complexity of having two chronic diseases made the beginning of her journey the most challenging. Through her experience with PAH, she said she learned that “you must find a facility that is familiar with your disease.” She recommends the Pulmonary Hypertension Association as a great place to start learning about PAH.

While she knows her PAH is progressive, she chooses to stay positive.

“What I learned about advocating for myself with PAH is that no one is going to fight as hard for me as I will,” said Martin. “I know my body. I know when something is different, but I also know that my doctors are not mind readers. If I don’t share with them what is going on, including the smallest details, they can’t give me the proper treatment I need.”

Staying hopeful through connection

It’s important to Martin to connect with other PAH patients and educate people about the disease.

Since her diagnosis, she’s educated numerous people about PAH and scleroderma. She believes in the importance of raising awareness and telling her story. It’s sometimes hard for her to explain to people that even if she doesn’t appear sick, she may still be dealing with difficult symptoms.

“PAH has affected so much of my daily life — simple things like vacuuming, doing the laundry, taking a shower and going to the grocery store,” Martin said. “I encourage others to be understanding and avoid making assumptions about a person with PAH based on their outward appearance.”

She urges people to be supportive and listen when someone shares their story.

Health awareness

Heart failure: A physician’s perspective

By Dr. Joerg Koglin, senior vice president and head of general medicine and global clinical development

April 5, 2023

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According to the American Heart Association, 127.9 million adults in the U.S. — nearly half of all U.S. adults — have some type of cardiovascular disease. And the implications can be very serious. In fact, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S., claiming approximately 940,000 lives each year (based on 2022 estimates). There are many types of cardiovascular diseases, one of which is heart failure. Heart failure is when the heart cannot pump properly so that it doesn’t fully support the body’s need for oxygen and blood. And that is where my specialty and passion lie. As a cardiologist, I learned and study how cardiovascular diseases develop to try to find ways to help manage conditions that impact so many people around the world.

For years, I worked in one of the largest European academic centers focused on heart failure and cared for patients with this chronic, progressive condition. I saw how this disease affected my patients’ lives and what it meant to live with its symptoms: swollen feet, legs and ankles; shortness of breath; persistent coughing; and fatigue.

After many years as a physician treating individual patients in a heart failure clinic, I joined the Merck research team to try and impact patient care at a larger scale, but I still carry my patients’ stories with me. I remember the father trying to keep up with his kids, losing his breath just climbing the bleachers at a game. The husband who was waiting on the heart transplant list, but ran out of time. My patients’ struggles with heart failure and the impact it had on their families is what drives my desire to make a difference. They are a big part of why I’m at Merck today, working with a team of world-class scientists to try to advance heart failure research.

Our focus is on trying to help people with heart failure, which impacts more than six million Americans — a number that is expected to grow to over eight million by 2030. We’re working with a sense of urgency because the prognosis for people with heart failure is poor.

While heart failure is a challenging disease, I’m hopeful about the future of research. More than 60 years ago, my colleagues at Merck delivered their first advance in cardiovascular disease and, today, we’ll keep pushing heart failure research forward.

While science pushes forward, it’s important for all of us to take steps today to protect our hearts by living as healthy a lifestyle as possible. The advice I try to follow myself is all about creating healthy habits: eating healthy food, which means more fresh fruits and vegetables and fewer processed foods; maintaining a healthy weight; getting regular exercise and not smoking. With the busy and hectic lifestyles many of us lead, it can be hard to fit it all in every day, but every little bit counts. I’ve found that in life as in science, small steps, coupled with persistence and dedication, can help make a difference.