Bridging
the Gap Between
Specialists With Insights
From an Expert Panel
Often unsuspected and underappreciated,
pulmonary arterial hypertension in some forms of scleroderma
is much like primary pulmonary hypertension; the cause
of the dyspnea and associated symptoms frequently
eludes diagnosis until very late in the disease.
Unfortunately, by that time, pulmonary
hypertension may have reached an advanced stage less
amenable to treatment. Although many patients with
collagen vascular disease are considered at high risk
for inflam-matory pulmonary involvement, the disease
process is often insidious and appropriate evaluation,
including pulmonary function tests, echocardiography,
and right-heart catheterization, may not be ordered
when the benefit of treatment might be more substantial.
One of the key issues concerns separating the potential
causes of pulmonary hypertension that may occur in
these patients and recognizing why they may require
more aggressive follow-up to identify an evolving
inflammatory com-ponent and potential progressive
vasculopathy.
For these reasons, the Pulmonary Hypertension
Round-table discussion in this issue will have broad
appeal to our readership, which includes cardiologists,
pulmonologists, and rheumatologists. Clearly, this
is a disease that is likely to pres-ent to each of
these groups, and by transcending the bound-aries
of these specialties, our discussion offers insights
about its incidence, evolution, and appropriate evaluation.
From the diverse backgrounds of our experts, you will
find clinical pearls relevant to your practice regardless
of your specialty. One of the goals of Advances in
Pulmonary Hypertensionis to bring you this kind of
distilled knowledge, based on contributions from the
Scientific Leadership Council of the Pulmonary Hypertension
Association (PHA). These physicians are listed on
page 2 and provide a tremendous breadth of experience
gathered at leading institutions throughout the world.
Their continued involvement with the journal gives
us one of the clearest perspectives on the latest
information in diagnosis and treatment.
We appreciate the warm welcome Advances
in Pulmonary Hypertensionhas received in the medical
community and look forward to fulfilling the commitment
PHA has made toward expanding your awareness of managing
this disease. We also welcome your comments and suggestions
regarding articles that appear in this issue by contacting
PHA.
Victor F. Tapson, MD
Editor-in-Chief
Articles
Advances in Pulmonary Hypertension,
Autumn 2002, Vol. 1, No. 2
Editor-in-Chief Ronald J. Oudiz, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
UCLA School of Medicine
Director, Liu Center for Pulmonary Hypertension
Division of Cardiology
Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
Torrance, California
Immediate Past Editor Vallerie V. McLaughlin, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Director, Pulmonary Hypertension Program
University of Michigan Health System
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Editor-in-Chief Elect Richard Channick, MD
Professor of Clinical Medicine
Pulmonary and Critical Care Division
University of California, San Diego Medical Center
San Diego, California
Associate Editors Erika Berman Rosenzweig, MD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Department of Pediatrics
Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons
New York, New York
Robert Frantz, MD
Consultant in Cardiovascular
Diseases and Internal Medicine
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Mayo Clinic College of Medicine
Rochester, Minnesota
Srinivas Murali, MD, FACC
Professor of Medicine
Drexel University College of Medicine
Director, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine
Medical Director, Gerald McGinnis Cardiovascular Institute
Allegheny General Hospital
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Publisher
Pulmonary Hypertension Association
Jack Stibbs, Board Chair
Rino Aldrighetti, President
Rachel Pokorney, Medical Services Associate Director
Publishing Staff
Stu Chapman, Executive Editor
Susan Chapman, Managing Editor
Heidi Green, Associate Editor
Gloria Catalano, Production Director
Michael McClain, Design Director
Editorial Offices
Advances in Pulmonary Hypertension
DataMedica
424 Dune Road Westhampton Beach, NY 11978
Tel: 631-288-7733
Fax: 631- 288-7744
Advances in Pulmonary Hypertension is circulated to
cardiologists, pulmonologists, rheumatologists and other selected
physicians by the Pulmonary Hypertension
Association
. The contents of the
articles are
independently determined ly the Editor
and the Editorial Advisory
Board.
Editorial Mission Advances in Pulmonary Hypertension is committed
to help physicians in their clinical decision
making by informing them of important
trends affecting their practice. Analyzing the
impact of new findings and covering current
information in the peer-reviewed literature,
Advances in Pulmonary Hypertension is published
four times a year. Advances in Pulmonary
Hypertension is the official journal
of the Pulmonary Hypertension Association.
Each article in this journal has been reviewed
and approved by members of the Editorial
Advisory Board.
Editorial Board
Todd Bull, MD
Division of Pulmonary Sciences and Critical Care Medicine
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
Denver, Colorado
Murali Chakinala, MD
Director, Pulmonary Hypertension Clinic
Washington University School of Medicine
St. Louis, Missouri
Kristin Highland, MD
Assistant Professor
Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care
Director, Pulmonary Hypertension Clinic
Medical University of South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Jim Maloney, MD
Associate Professor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
Denver, Colorado
Ioana Preston, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Tufts - New England Medical Center
Boston, Massachusetts
Zeenat Safdar, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Department of Medicine, Pulmonary & Critical Care Section
Pulmonary Hypertension Center
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas
Rajan Saggar, MD
Assistant Professor
Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care
Medicine and Hospitalists
David Geffen School of Medicine
UCLA
Los Angeles, California
Robert Schilz, DO, PhD
Medical Director of Lung
Transplantation and Pulmonary Vascular Disease
University Hospital of Cleveland
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, Ohio
Francisco Soto, MD, MS
Assistant Professor
Director, Pulmonary Hypertension Program
Medical College of Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Roxana Sulica, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Director, Beth Israel Pulmonary Hypertension Program
Beth Israel Medical Center
New York, New York
The
information provided on the PHA website is provided for general information
only. It is not intended as legal, medical or other professional
advice, and should not be relied upon as a substitute for consultations
with qualified professionals who are familiar with your individual
needs.
