New Heartwarming Campaign Aims To Save Lives Of People With Oft-Misdiagnosed Deadly Disease

SILVER SPRING, Md., Oct. 28, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- This November, Pulmonary Hypertension Awareness Month, a new public service ad campaign will educate people around the world about a life-threatening disease too often misdiagnosed as asthma.

Experience the interactive Multimedia News Release here: http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7673651-pulmonary-hypertension-association-heart2cureph

The Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) is launching Heart2CurePH (#Heart2CurePH), a TV, radio, place-based and print public service campaign. Developed in partnership with leading national cause communications firm, The CauseWay Agency, the PSAs will begin running in donated media, including buses in Los Angeles and New York and transit shelters in Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco. The campaign has already received donated time and space throughout November on one of the big screens in Times Square. In addition, PHA is working with its partner PH organizations in 40 countries so that Heart2CurePH (#Heart2CurePH) ads will appear around the world.

Pulmonary Hypertension (PH), which some call "the other high blood pressure," is high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs that can lead to death from right-sided heart failure. Without treatment, the average survival rate for PH patients is 2.8 years after diagnosis. Because the symptoms include shortness of breath and chest pain, PH is often misdiagnosed as asthma or other less-threatening illnesses.

The concept for the campaign is the heart in many forms – a food lover's heart, a music lover's heart, a yoga lover's heart, and a lover's heart – each depicted as a healthy, happy heart. The heart images are juxtaposed with an echocardiogram image of the heart of a person with pulmonary hypertension (PH). The ad copy explains how the PH heart labors and that untreated, PH can lead to death.

"We learned through consumer research and concept testing that contrasting the joy conjured by life's happy hearts with the failing heart of an untreated PH patient – would be a simple, yet powerful attention grabber," said Robert Schultz of The CauseWay Agency. "People wanted to learn about this disease and how they can rule it out for themselves and loved ones and be motivated to support PHA's work to find a cure."

PHA funds support programs for patients and caregivers, medical education, and research to find a cure.  While this is PHA's first agency-produced campaign, the association will also tap into its very active patient and caregiver community to leverage Pulmonary Hypertension Awareness Month for grassroots social media and place-based ad sharing.  

Founded by patients in 1991 as the world's first and nation's largest comprehensive nonprofit PH association, PHA recently received for the 12th consecutive year Charity Navigator's highest rating—four stars—for fiscal accountability and transparency, placing it in the top half of one percent of all rated charities.

"As we approach our 25^th anniversary year, we recognize that we must do more to make sure people who have PH know if before it's too late," said PHA President and CEO Rino Aldrighetti. "Heart2CurePH is focusing on early and accurate diagnosis and inviting people around the world to join our cause. The campaign will show and tell people that at PHA, we're putting our hearts into finding a cure."

About the Pulmonary Hypertension Association
Headquartered in Silver Spring, Md., with a growing list of chapters across the country, the Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) is the country's leading pulmonary hypertension organization. Its mission is to extend and improve the lives of those affected by PH; its vision is a world without PH, empowered by hope. PHA achieves this by connecting and working together with the entire PH community of patients, families and medical professionals. Among its programs, PHA facilitates more than 245 support groups around the country and delivers continuing education for medical professionals through PHA Online University. For 12 consecutive years, PHA has received the highest rating—four stars—for fiscal accountability and transparency from Charity Navigator, placing it in the top half of one percent of all rated charities. For more information, please go to PHAssociation.org, @PHAssociation on Twitter or www.facebook.com/PulmonaryHypertensionAssociation.

About The CauseWay Agency
Based just outside of NYC, The CauseWay Agency is a leading cause communications firm that uses the power of communications to advance causes for the greater good. CauseWay works exclusively with non-profit organizations and government agencies to create multiplatform campaigns using both traditional media and social media.

SOURCE Pulmonary Hypertension Association