The Social Security Administration (SSA) uses a screening tool called the Listing of Impairments to identify claimants who are so severely impaired that they cannot work at all and thus immediately qualify for benefits. In this report, the IOM makes several recommendations for improving SSA's capacity to determine disability benefits more quickly and efficiently using the Listings.

This book is a clinical guide to controversial and emerging topics in pulmonary hypertension. There are multiple challenges and unanswered questions encountered by clinicians that evaluate, diagnose and treat patients with suspected or confirmed pulmonary vascular disease. This book provides a deep dive into the diagnosis and therapeutics of pulmonary hypertension supported by the literature and balanced with personal clinical experience. Expert authors have chosen these specific topics to address issues where uncertainty and/or controversy exists as well as highlight areas that are just being incorporated into clinical practice. These topics include: exercise pulmonary hypertension, sickle cell disease and pulmonary hypertension, and sarcoid pulmonary hypertension, among many others. Chapters address the diagnostic and treatment dilemmas posed by these various clinical entities through literature review, sharing of expert opinion, and review of recent guidelines and their applicability to the multiple different nuanced presentations of pulmonary hypertension. This is an ideal guide for pulmonologists, cardiologists, and other specialty practitioners caring for patients with pulmonary hypertension.

This open access book focuses on the molecular mechanism of congenital heart disease and pulmonary hypertension, offering new insights into the development of pulmonary circulation and the ductus arteriosus. It describes in detail the molecular mechanisms involved in the development and morphogenesis of the heart, lungs and ductus arteriosus, covering a range of topics such as gene functions, growth factors, transcription factors and cellular interactions, as well as stem cell engineering technologies. The book also presents recent advances in our understanding of the molecular mechanism of lung development, pulmonary hypertension and molecular regulation of the ductus arteriosus. As such, it is an ideal resource for physicians, scientists and investigators interested in the latest findings on the origins of congenital heart disease and potential future therapies involving pulmonary circulation/hypertension and the ductus arteriosus.

This book explains the pharmacological relationships between the various systems in the human body. It offers a comprehensive overview of the pharmacology concerning the autonomic, central, and peripheral nervous systems. Presenting up-to-date information on chemical mediators and their significance, it highlights the therapeutic aspects of several diseases affecting the cardiovascular, renal, respiratory, gastrointestinal, endocrinal, and hematopoietic systems. The book also includes drug therapy for microbial and neoplastic diseases. It also comprises sections on immunopharmacology, dermatological, and ocular pharmacology providing valuable insights into these emerging and recent topics. Covering the diverse groups of drugs acting on different systems, the book reviews their actions, clinical uses, adverse effects, interactions, and subcellular mechanisms of action. It is divided into 11 parts, subdivided into several chapters that evaluate the basic pharmacological principles that govern the different types of body systems. This book is intended for academicians, researchers, and clinicians in industry and academic institutions in pharmaceutical, pharmacological sciences, pharmacy, medical sciences, physiology, neurosciences, biochemistry, molecular biology and other allied health sciences.

NORD Guide to Rare Disorders is a comprehensive, practical, authoritative guide to the diagnosis and management of more than 800 rare diseases. The diseases are discussed in a uniform, easy-to-follow format--a brief description, signs and symptoms, etiology, related disorders, epidemiology, standard treatment, investigational treatment, resources, and references.The book includes a complete directory of orphan drugs, a full-color atlas of visual diagnostic signs, and a Master Resource List of support groups and helpful organizations. An index of symptoms and key words offers physicians valuable assistance in finding the information they need quickly.

The heart and lung are intricately linked. When the heart is affected by disease, the lungs will often show some related pathological or clinical conditions and vice versa. Pulmonary heart disease is by definition a condition when the lungs cause the heart to fail. The left ventricle in combination with the other structures in the “left heart” pumps blood throughout the body. The right ventricle (and structures of the “right heart”) pumps blood to the lungs where it is oxygenated and returned to the left heart for distribution. In normal circumstances, the right heart pumps blood into the lungs without any resistance. The lungs usually have minimal pressure and the right heart easily pumps blood through. However when there is lung disease present, like emphysema, chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD) or pulmonary hypertension- the small blood vessels become very stiff and rigid. The right ventricle is no longer able to push blood into the lungs and eventually fails. This is known as pulmonary heart disease. Pulmonary heart disease is also known as right heart failure or cor pulmonale. The chief cause of right heart failure is the increase in blood pressure in the lungs (pulmonary artery).

Pulmonary hypertension is a fatal lung and heart disease. It is characterized by shortness of breath, fatigue and fainting. It is exacerbated by an increase of the pressure in the lung vasculature through exercise, leading to progressive worsening of hemodynamics, right ventricular hypertrophy, right heart insufficiency and finally right heart failure. This book focuses on pulmonary arterial hypertension, a rare and progressive subgroup of pulmonary hypertension, which is today incurable and terminally faal. Classification of pulmonary arterial hypertension, its pathology, and strategies for future therapy will be of interest both to those suffering from the disease and those who take care of patients. This volume will also engage physicians and other scientists contributing to an understanding of the pathophysiology of pulmonary arterial hypertension and attempting to extend life of humans with pulmonary arterial hypertension by developing causal and curative therapies.