PPH Hard to Detect

July 7, 2007, 9:45AM. By Jane Mundy

Portsmouth, NH"Around the end of 1997 my doctor prescribed this new wonder drug -- Redux," says Pattylin Cassen. It worked -- she lost weight but gained some serious side effects, and her doctor is concerned that she may have Pulmonary Hypertension (PPH).

"I lost about 40 lbs -- but a few years ago I was diagnosed with leaky heart valves and high blood pressure," says Classen. "Now I have to get another echocardiogram because my doctor thinks I might also have PPH.

I took Redux every day for about six months; I felt great and had lots of energy but it also made me feel anxious. As soon as I dropped the required amount of weight, I stopped taking Redux.

I was fortunate; not even a year later I heard on the news that people were dying from taking Redux and Fen-phen, the other diet drug.

I was scared but relieved that I wasn't taking Redux anymore. I figured that was the end of it and thought I was fine. Several years later, it must have been around 2004, I saw a new doctor and he asked about my medical history. When I told him that I had been on Redux, he advised me to get an echocardiogram to see if I had any damage to my heart.

The results showed that my heart valves leaked. This surprised me because I really thought I was out of the woods. And there was no heart disease in my family. I was only 33 and in good health. Why weren't these symptoms detected sooner? It was too coincidental that I developed these heart problems not long after taking Redux.

Every two years I have to go back for tests. PPH isn't easy to detect. I have to take meds for high blood pressure and try to control it with diet and exercise. Because of Redux I don't want to take any more prescription drugs -- I will take Tylenol when I really have to. I could have done without taking Redux; in hindsight I could have taken the weight off by myself -- which I have done since 1999.

I have to go back to my doctor in the next few weeks to run more tests for PPH. I try not to think about this too much but I am afraid that when I get older, I will have a serious heart problem.