Memos
Editor's Memo
Welcome back to Advances in Pulmonary Hypertension Volume 18! First and foremost, I would like to thank everyone involved for making the transition to our now online journal. Michael Gray and Rebecca Aune from the PHA have been invaluable leaders in this charge to not only make this a smooth transition, but also to improve the quality of our journal. Thank you to Clarissa Nemeth from Allen Press who has joined the Advances team as the Managing Editor. And to all of the editorial board members and guest editors, thank you for being instrumental, submitting topic ideas and innovative ways to make the online journal a hit. The response to first online issue (Vol 18, No. 1) has been great and we are looking forward to new ideas, additions, and improvements in the coming issues. Congratulations to all.
In this issue, Advances examines the role of exercise in pulmonary hypertension (PH). Drs Ron Oudiz and Harrison (Hap) Farber proposed this subject a year ago when realizing the lack of a recent solid update on this important topic in PH. As guest editor, Dr Oudiz took on this challenging issue and he has assembled a group of international experts to discuss multiple topics. The issue he and the authors have together created is an outstanding educational resource and the most up-to-date reference on this subject.
This Advances issue includes multiple aspects of exercise in association with PH. The three main manuscripts as well as the regular sections of the journal tease out the most important areas to discuss. In the first article, Dr Daniel Dumitescu (Germany) and Dr Ron Oudiz (US) review the pathophysiological mechanisms that are involved with exercise intolerance in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), and the relevance for clinical practice and future outcomes. In the second article, Drs Franz Rischard and Barry Borlaug from the United States update us on how exercise testing (all types) is performed and the significance the results hold for our patients. In the third article, Drs Andrew Peacock and Martin Johnson (UK) discuss the important role exercise has for our patients.
The round table discussion is an important dialogue between Drs Aaron Waxman, Robert Naeije, and Ron Oudiz. They exam multiple areas of the topic for an up-to-date world-class review. In the Ask the Expert section, Dr Lana Melendres-Groves (US) reveals how her center approaches exercise and relays her exercise prescription for her patients. A. Marlene Pirfo and Dr Edward Chen (US) address the practical aspects of pulmonary rehabilitation for patients in the PH Professional Network section of the journal. Finally, although not related to exercise, Drs Abhinav Gupta, Christine Dillingham, Harrison Farber, and Mary Jo Farmer (US) present an important case and review of PH related to an arteriovenous fistula.
I know you will enjoy and learn so much from this issue of Advances. It will no doubt be a valuable resource that provides current reflections by international experts on the role of exercise in PH patients.
Guest Editor's Memo
As guest editor for Advances this quarter, I had the great pleasure of getting together worldwide experts to create an all-things-exercise issue. This international issue provides major updates covering exercise in diagnosis, prognosis, and intervention (rehabilitative exercise) for pulmonary hypertension (PH) patients. Dr Daniel Dumitrescu (Germany) covers the physiology behind exercise and PH. Drs Franz Rischard and Barry Borlaug (US) cover the technical aspects of how exercise testing is performed. Drs Andrew Peacock and Martin Johnson (UK) describe the role of exercise in PH. And Dr Lana Melendres-Groves (US) does a nice Ask the Expert piece covering how she approaches her “prescription” for exercise. In the PH Professional Network (PHPN) corner, A. Marlene Pirfo and Dr Edward Chen (US) address the practical aspects of pulmonary rehabilitation for patients.
Searching the online content for Advances, I found the last roundtable on exercise was published 10 years ago! So Drs Aaron Waxman (US) and Robert Naeije (Belgium) and I got together for a 45-minute roundtable and chatted about…well, you guessed it: exercise.
I hope you enjoy this issue as much as I enjoyed participating in it.