Professionals in Pulmonary Hypertension

The Pulmonary Hypertension Resource Network (PHRN) is “the nurses, respiratory therapists, technicians, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals who serve as the medical support network for people dealing with this devastating disease.” They are all part of Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) and doeverything from enhancing communication among PH medical professionals to facilitating and conducting professional development, research, and education. The 3rd PHRN Symposium will take place from October 11 to 13, 2007, just outside of Washington DC in Crystal City, Virginia. Produced by and for allied health professionals working in PH and involving many leading PH specialists, it’s a rare educational opportunity for PH nurses and otherallied health professionals. Now a biennial event, almost 500 attendees are expected at the symposium. Refer to page 88 of this issue for more details on this exciting event.

Elsewhere in this issue you will see an announcement encouraging physicians to refer patients to local support groups or, if there are none in the area, to have their centers work with PHA to start one. Support groups can put patients and caregivers in touch to share experiences and learn more about PH, and can evencreate the sparks needed to raise money for PHA, which uses the funds for research, travel scholarships to meetings for patients, and educational programs. If you are not connected to a support group, you and your patients are missing out!

I would like to thank Srinivas Murali, MD, the lead Guest Editor for this issue, who was charged with coordinating and overseeing the content, and Ioana Preston, MD, who assisted Dr Murali. They have done an outstanding job in getting together an impressive team of writers who together have produced an informative collection of manuscripts and a Roundtable covering the difficult challenges of surgery in patients with PH.