Volume 8: Issue 2

The scientific program of the Pulmonary Hypertension Association is guided by the association's Scientific Leadership Council. The Council includes the following health care professionals:

Vallerie V. McLaughlin, MD, Chair, SLC, University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, Michigan
David B. Badesch, MD, SLC Immediate Past-Chair, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Aurora, Colorado
John H. Newman, MD, SLC Vice-Chair, Vanderbilt Medical School, Nashville, Tennessee
Raymond L. Benza, MD, Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Todd Bull, MD, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, Colorado
Richard Channick, MD, Editor-in Chief, Advances in Pulmonary Hypertension

Robyn J. Barst, MDColumbia University

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Ernst von Romberg, a German physician, described an autopsy in 1891 as “pulmonary vascular sclerosis”; however, only with the introduction of intravenous epoprostenol in 1995 have disease-specific targeted medical therapies for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) become available. Furthermore, significant advances in the treatment of PAH have occurred during the past 15 years, with 8 medical therapies now approved. These agents target the prostacyclin pathway, the nitric oxide (NO) pathway, and the endothelin (ET-1) pathway. In addition, combination trials have demonstrated additive or synergistic benefit by targeting 2 or

A discussion among attendees of the 4th World Symposium on Pulmonary Hypertension took place to share “an insider's look” into the current and future research and treatment implications in pulmonary hypertension. Myung H. Park, MD, guest editor of this issue of Advances in Pulmonary Hypertension, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Director, Pulmonary Vascular Diseases Program, Division of Cardiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, moderated the discussion. Participants included Robyn Barst, MD, Professor Emerita, Columbia University, New York; Marc Humbert, MD, PhD, Universite Paris-Sud, French Referal Center for Pulmonary Hypertension, Hopital Antoine-Beclere, Assistance Publique Hopitaux de Paris, Clamart, France; Ivan Robbins, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee; and Lewis J. Rubin, MD, Clinical Professor, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego.

Summaries and commentaries from the section editors and invited reviewers present a clinical context for practitioners' application of the latest published research relevant to care of patients with pulmonary hypertension.

We would like to introduce you to a new section in Advances in Pulmonary Hypertension in which we highlight results from ongoing and recent clinical trials.

The preliminary results of several multicenter clinical trials have recently been presented. In this issue, we will focus on the results of Freedom-C, which was presented in November of 2008, as well as the Walk-PHaSST study, which was stopped early in July 2009.

4th World Symposium Makes History

Editor's Memo

The Scientific Leadership Council of the Pulmonary Hypertension Association

Epidemiology and Classification of Pulmonary Hypertension

Summary of Pulmonary Hypertension Genetics and Genomics

Diagnosis and Assessment of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: A Glance at the Output From the Dana Point Conference

Updated Evidence-Based Treatment Algorithm in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Diagnosis, Assessment, and Treatment of Nonpulmonary Arterial Hypertension Pulmonary Hypertension: A Brief Summary From the 4th World Symposium on Pulmonary Hypertension

Future Perspectives for the Treatment of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Roundtable Discussion of the Impact of the 4th World Symposium on Pulmonary Hypertension

Ask the Expert

What is the current status regarding exercise-induced pulmonary hypertension (PH)?

Article Reviews

Clinical Trials Update

PHRN Corner

Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: Where Are We and Where Are We Going?

Conference Abstracts

Guest Editor’s Memo

A Roundtable Discussion Addressing Patient-Centered Care and Quality of Life in Patients With Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Editor’s Memo

Pulmonary Hypertension Associated With Parenchymal Lung Disease