New Rare Diseases Have Been Added to the Patient Advocate Foundation’s Co-Pay Relief Program

The Patient Advocate Foundation has recently begun to expand the reach of its popular Co-Pay Relief program. The Co-Pay Relief program is designed to provide financial assistance to qualifying patients. To learn more about the Co-Pay Relief program, click here.

This program has already helped rare disease patients with diseases such as metastatic breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and multiple sclerosis. Now, patients with chronic pain, pulmonary arterial hypertension, and homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia are also eligible. 

About Familial Hypercholesterolemia

Familial hypercholesterolemia is a genetic disorder that causes the patient to have unusually high low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in the blood as well as early onset cardiovascular disease. This condition is considered to be widely underdiagnosed and conventional cholesterol lowering drugs like statins are not effective for all patients. Homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia is generally more challenging to treat. Click here to learn more about familial hypercholesterolemia.

About Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Pulmonary arterial hypertension is a condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs is abnormally high. The arteries in the lungs are often inflamed. Symptoms of this condition include rapid heartbeat, poor exercise tolerance, shortness of breath, fainting, leg swelling, fatigue, and chest pain. Treatment may include a number of medications and surgical operations, including lung transplant. A transplant can cure the condition, but it can cause many complications. Survival rate is often only about two or three years without treatment, but the latest drugs can prolong life by several years or more. Click here to learn more about pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Chronic Pain

Chronic pain is not a distinct condition, but it is a widespread symptom that can appear in a variety of diseases, including many long term, rare illnesses. Dealing with long term pain is often one of the most stressful, expensive, and challenging aspects of treatment for many rare diseases.

Click here to learn more about the activities of the Patient Advocate Foundation.