The nurse specialist and practical issues in the care of pulmonary arterial hypertension patients.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) remains a devastating disease. All current medical therapy is expensive, complex and largely palliative. The management of PAH patients requires co-ordination between the patient, their support system, third party payers and healthcare professionals. The nurse specialist serves to organise these entities, balancing the needs of the patient and the PAH programme. The care of the PAH patient requires equal attention to avoiding potentially harmful procedures and medications, maximising conventional therapy and utilisation of new PAH-specific medical treatment.