The unit of Pulmonary Hypertension at the University Hospital of Toledo has become in everything a referencehaving managed to improve the attention of patients affected by this pathologyrarely diagnosed in Castilla-La Mancha. This is how they have managed to be among the ‘greats’, by obtaining the BIC (Best in Class) 2024 award in this category, equivalent to “being the best in the class” in Spanish healthcare.
The coordinator of the Arterial Hypertension Unit, Dr. María Lázarocannot hide the joy that they have received from receiving this award that represents a recognition for all the effort you have madetogether with his team, in the last 20 years. “We want to thank our colleagues from other hospitals in the region who trust in our work and refer patients to whom we must make the diagnosis and offer them the appropriate treatment.”
So the cardiologist has words of appreciation for her colleague, the nurse María Carmen Moreno Corrotowith whom he has worked for many years. «Without it we could not function. Takes good care of patients and we do good teamwork because we understand each other.”
Regional hospital network
He also talks about the collaboration he receives from Dr. Marta Flores, who is in the HUT Hospitalization unitand with the clinical trials coordinator, who collaborates with the research projects carried out by this team, which has become news since it was awarded this prestigious award. “In part, we owe it to the opinion of the patients and that has been taken into account when granting us, for the first time, this award.”
The work of this unit could not have advanced so much in recent years without professionals of various specialtiesas cardiologists, pulmonologists, internists, rheumatologists and intensivists, that collaborate closely in a network that connects hospitals in different locations in Castilla-La Mancha, such as Toledo, Talavera, Alcázar de San Juan and Ciudad Real, inter alia. “Through this collective work we manage to offer an accurate diagnosis and treatment to our patients,” explains the cardiologist.
rare disease
The doctor assures that pulmonary hypertension is a rare, underdiagnosed and very serious disease. «Since we have been doing this work, we have patients who are still alive, happy, some with lung transplants. In general, the diagnosis and survival of these people in Castilla-La Mancha has improved.
The data offered by María Lázaro on pulmonary hypertension demonstrate that Every year one or two cases are detected per million inhabitants and, being considered a rare disease, makes diagnosis more difficult.
María Lázaro and the nurse María Carmen Moreno Corroto during the collection of the BIC 2024 award
The affected patients they tend less to exercise, although other determining factors are weight gain, having a respiratory or cardiac pathology, having low iron or anemia. For this reason, he insists that the fundamental thing for his unit is to find the few patients and offer them the treatment that changes their lives for the better.
Dr. Lázaro explains that there is a pioneering project in Spain, which is the voluntary pulmonary hypertension registry that includes the data of these people, maintaining their anonymity. “This allows us to make an assessment of what is happening in our country with this disease,” he explains.
Among the most notable achievements is the implementation of stress right heart catheterizations, a pioneering procedure in Spain that allows earlier and more precise diagnoses of pulmonary hypertension. “This procedure is essential for differential diagnosis, which in turn allows for more effective and personalized treatments to be initiated for patients,” reports Lázaro.
Regarding current lines of work, the unit is expanding its collaboration and care network, reaching a greater number of patients. In addition, they are starting a new project to care for adult patients with congenital heart disease, an area in which the team has specifically trained in Toronto and Madrid. “This will allow patients in the region to receive local care without having to travel to Madrid, improving accessibility and quality of service,” he says.
Despite these successes, the unit faces some challenges. One of the main ones is to continue advancing in the early diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension to offer more effective treatments to patients, says the expert, while remembering that they will also work to “continue training professionals in the region in the management of this disease and improve care for patients with congenital heart disease.
He insists that the final objective remains clear: to guarantee that no patient with pulmonary hypertension is left without a diagnosis or access to adequate treatment, and to continue being a reference in the care and treatment of this disease in Castilla-La Mancha.
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