[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 11897]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         NATIONAL HEREDITARY HEMORRHAGIC TELANGIECSTASIA MONTH

  Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I rise today in recognition of National 
Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiecstasia--HHT--Month to raise awareness 
of this public health threat and encourage greater prevention, 
diagnosis and treatment efforts.
  Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiecstasia, HHT, also referred to as 
Osler-Weber-Rendu Syndrome, is a complex genetic blood vessel disorder 
that affects approximately 70,000, or 1 in 5,000, Americans. It is 
characterized by irregular blood vessel growths, or telangiectases, in 
the nasal mucosa, mouth, gastrointestinal tract, and skin of the face 
and hands, as well as artery-vein malformations--AVMs--in the major 
organs including the lungs, brain, and liver. If left misdiagnosed or 
untreated, HHT can result in considerable morbidity and mortality.
  It is estimated that 20 to 40 percent of debilitating and life-
threatening complications and sudden death due to these ``vascular time 
bombs'' are preventable. Twenty percent of those with HHT, regardless 
of age, suffer death or disability. HHT has been subject to 
underreporting for many years. Approximately 90 percent of the HHT 
population is not yet diagnosed and is at risk for sudden rupture of 
the blood vessels in major organs in the body, such as the brain and 
lungs, and other complications due to nosebleeds and gastrointestinal 
bleeding.
  It is my hope that efforts throughout the month of June will increase 
awareness of HHT and mitigate the preventable health threats posed by 
this disorder.

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