Team PHenomenal Hope Brazil and ABRAF, the Brazilian Pulmonary Hypertension Association, have the mission to provide care for people living with lung and heart diseases and their relatives. With the new coronavirus pandemic, our team worries about keeping pulmonary hypertension (PH) patients home and safe. They need to avoid going to hospitals to the best of their abilities. Not only they are at risk of getting the virus, but ER professionals may also confuse their underlying illness with COVID-19.

Many of them are avoiding going to the ER because of these fears. Although caution is necessary, it is important to inform them how to self-manage the disease and what is the best time to go to the hospital because neglecting their health condition can be fatal. Monitoring symptoms is fundamental to know how to act.

This is why a pulse oximeter is an essential tool to control their symptoms record and to detect early pneumonia, as recommended by the medical team at Bellevue Hospital for the New York Times. Patients with COVID-19 take longer, even days, to identify more severe symptoms such as shortness of breath. Measuring their blood oxygen levels at home, they can easily suspect of having the disease caused by coronavirus. Because of this gadget, they can quickly look for medical assistance when their saturation is below 92% - the silent hypoxia, a rapid fall that is hard to detect and common in severe cases of COVID-19.

Families with PH patients in Brazil have historically had lower incomes given that patients become partially or completely unable to work. In a study with more than 330 patients from all regions of Brazil in 2019, ABRAF identified that 48% live with a monthly family income of less than US$ 350 and 60% struggle to pay for basic needs such as transportation and food.

The Brazilian Government passed an emergency financial aid for people with low income, giving them US$ 100 for month (lower than the US$166 minimum wages). This amount does not meet their needs whatsoever. An oximeter, for example, costs $30. A food emergency kit is sold for $35.

Unmet Needs Patient Impact Fund is an emergency support for patients and families. It needs help now to provide the PH community the best care and attention that they so much deserve during this delicate moment of their lives. We are raising funds in the United States and Brazil with a crowdfunding campaign to donate food survival kits, oximeters, and face masks for PH patients.

We cannot leave these patients in need unaided. We need to act now. We need to unite in a global movement. We need you! 

Published on 8 June 2020.

This article was originally published on: https://www.teamphenomenalhope.org/global-update-team-ph-brazil/