Jennifer Rice is a Nurse Practitioner in the Pulmonary Hypertension Clinic

Pulmonary hypertension is high blood pressure in the lungs. This means that the blood vessels that carry blood from the heart to the lungs become hard and narrow, making the heart work harder to pump the blood through. In turn, this weakens the heart, which cannot work properly and this can lead to heart failure. It is a rare disease and there is no cure.

Jennifer works with outpatients, as well with her patients if they are admitted into the hospital, for instance with heart failure.  She supports her patients with whatever they need to ensure they are getting proper care including testing and prescriptions, even helping them with paperwork and navigating processes to ensure they receive coverage of their medications.

Her patients are able to call her directly with any questions or updates in their health – it is especially helpful to make sure any other medications they may be prescribed do not mix poorly. She loves seeing her patients get better. Although there is no cure for pulmonary hypertension, they do have a few therapy options to help. One of her more memorable patients could not walk 70 m without shortness of breath and having to stop, but now she is able to go hiking.

Because it is a rare disease she also spends time consulting with other care providers in the Maz to help them understand how it impacts patients and treatment options.