Regional Report - Gundersen Health System

New Pulmonary Artery Hypertension Clinic offers specialized care
Pulmonary Artery Hypertension (PAH) is an uncommon lung
disorder but can be a very serious disease. There is extremely wide
variability in the severity of pulmonary hypertension among
patients, making evaluation and treatment of the disease a very
complex process.
This is why Gundersen Lutheran established the Pulmonary
Artery Hypertension Clinic. “A routine check-up seldom
discovers the cause of PAH, so an extensive evaluation is
frequently needed to determine the underlying cause. Often, the
symptoms such as fatigue, shortness of breath, chest pain,
palpitations and fainting, are common to many diseases, so the
correct diagnosis can be difficult to obtain,” explains Rebecca
Blank, PA-C, Pulmonary Diseases.
This new clinic offers thorough evaluations needed to
accurately diagnose PAH and provide the proper treatment
recommendations. Specialists Rebecca Blank, PA-C, and Alan
Pratt, MD, Pulmonary Diseases, encourage referrals and begin
their evaluations with a series of non-invasive studies tailored to
the patient’s history and exam.
Treatment of PAH may require very specialized medication
along with close follow-up or treatment of the disease causing
the PAH.
Pre-existing diseases can trigger and increase the severity of
secondary PAH. Blank, along with Dr. Pratt, work closely with
Cardiology, Rheumatology and various other departments to treat
the underlying problem.
Accurate diagnosis, one major benefit of this clinic, leads to
many other advantages for the patients. “Accurate diagnosis and
treatment will help eliminate treating patients with very expensive
drugs if they don’t, in fact, need them and pinpoint those who
do,” explains Dr. Pratt. “We have also been able to streamline our
processes to reduce costs,” adds Blank.
The new PAH Clinic is held in the Hospital, 2 North,
Pulmonary. For a consultation or referral, contact the PAH Clinic
via MedLink.
Alan Pratt, MD
Specialty: Pulmonary Medicine
MD Degree: University of Wisconsin School of Medicine,
Madison
Internship and Residency: University of Wisconsin School
of Medicine, Madison
Fellowship: University of Iowa Hospital & Clinics, Iowa City
Rebecca Blank, PA-C
Specialty: Pulmonary Medicine
Education: Viterbo University, La Crosse, Wis.
Regional Report
Information for healthcare providers in the Tri-state Region
Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center
1900 South Avenue
La Crosse, WI 54601
Non-Profit Org
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La Crosse, WI
54601
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