Secondary Prevention of Sickle Cell Disease Complications

News of a study from the NIH that finds a Potential Marker To Identify Sickle Cell Patients at High Risk of Complications .
Researchers say the enzyme lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) appears to hold promise in patients with sickle cell disease as a marker for risk of pulmonary hypertension and other complications, including early death. Pulmonary hypertension — abnormally high blood pressure in the lungs — is common in sickle cell disease.

“Our findings suggest that patients with sickle cell disease and high LDH levels should have especially careful monitoring for pulmonary hypertension, a life-threatening complication,� says Gregory Kato, M.D., the lead author of the study. Kato is a clinician in the NIH Clinical Center Department of Critical Care Medicine and director of the Sickle Cell Vascular Disease Unit in the NHLBI Vascular Medicine Branch.