Natalie is now out of immediate danger

When Natalie Archibald from the town of Musselburgh became seriously ill on Christmas day a couple of years ago her parents were beside themselves with worry.  At first doctors thought that the excitement of Christmas had brought on her collapse but when the problem continued to occur when she went back to school everyone realised that there was something seriously wrong with her.

She was taken to the world famous Great Ormond Street Hospital in London where she was diagnosed with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension, an incredibly rare condition which restricts the flow of blood through arteries around the lung. This condition which previously had been almost untreatable is now able to be controlled with the use of the drug sildenafil or to give it its common name, Viagra.

While Viagra is commonly associated with treating men who suffer from erectile dysfunction it is also being given to adults and children all over the world who suffer from Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension or PAH. The arterial condition only affects about 4000 people in the United Kingdom and of these about 300 of them are children.

The mother of Natalie says that the discovery that they could treat the condition with Viagra was a great relief and her daughter is now living a normal life provided that she takes her medication. The scientific mechanism by which Viagra is able to open the arteries in the penile area for men who suffer from erectile dysfunction is exactly the same as the mechanism which opens the arteries in the region of the lungs which helps to keep Natalie alive.

Natalie is now out of immediate danger however she will need to take her Viagra every day to keep herself alive. Despite the use of Viagra, Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension is in the long term incurable and doctors have placed a ten year limit on Natalie being able to survive by using the Viagra. Natalie’s parents and extended family however are determined to fund more research in this area and are undertaking a sponsored walk to raise awareness of the condition and also to raise money.

If you would like to sponsor the family and their walk you can contact Natalie’s mother on archijan @ aol.com