Guest Editor's Memo

Diagnosis and treatment of children with pulmonary hypertension (PH) remain challenging. Advances in therapy have followed the approval of adult therapies; however, there still is no FDA-approved medication for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in children. Further, recognition of PH associated with chronic lung disease continues to grow, increasing the number of infants treated. To aid the clinician struggling to treat these children, a group of PH clinicians recently published “Pediatric Pulmonary Hypertension: Guidelines from the American Heart Association and American Thoracic Society” (Circulation 2015; 132(21):2037–99). In this issue of Advances in Pulmonary Hypertension, we address various aspects of pediatric PH that are discussed in the guidelines. We thank all the authors who contributed to this effort and to the experts who participated in the roundtable.

Nearly every 5 years, we have an issue of Advances dedicated to pediatric PH. The first pediatric PH issue, in 2006, featured photographs of 5 children diagnosed with PAH on the front page. In a 2011 issue we showed the same 5 children--older and doing well on targeted therapies. We are happy to showcase the same 5 children-- now grown into 3 young adults and 2 teenagers—in a photo montage on pages 118–119 of this issue. Two are still on prostanoids and the rest are on dual-targeted therapies, and all are WHO functional class I-II. One is now an RN, another is working- doing talent shows, 3 are in high school and college and participate in sports activities under supervision. They are all very productive individuals and are actively involved in PAH advocacy. Each one of them is grateful to the advances in PAH care and therapeutics and are very aware of the need for continued research toward better palliation and perhaps a cure for the disease.