RheumaView™ Educational Series
The Lungs in Systemic Sclerosis
In systemic sclerosis, the lungs are the leading cause of death — and they fail along two separate fronts. Interstitial lung disease scars the tissue itself. Pulmonary arterial hypertension narrows the vessels. The mechanisms differ, the imaging differs, the treatment differs, and the two often appear in the same patient.
This short film walks through both: the shared origin in vasculopathy, immunity, and fibrosis; how high-resolution CT and pulmonary function tests tell the diseases apart; what serology predicts; and where treatment now stands, including newer agents like sotatercept.
A concise visual reference for anyone following pulmonary involvement in scleroderma.
By Olga Goodman, MD · research.rheumaview.com