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 do everything 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 other allied 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 even create 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.
Ronald J. Oudiz, MD
Editor-in-Chief
Guest Editor’s Note: This issue of Advances in Pulmonary Hypertension deals with a potpourri of important clinical surgical considerations in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Both surgical treatment options for PAH and medical management of PAH patients undergoing general surgery are reviewed, with a focus on providing physicians with practical clinical guidelines for patient care. Drs Dana McGlothlin and Teresa De Marco have summarized the preoperative risk assessment and postoperative management of PAH patients undergoing general surgical procedures, examining the predictors of good and poor clinical outcome and providing clinical pointers that every physician should know. Dr Reda Girgis and his colleagues have clearly defined the selection criteria and timing of referral of PAH patients for lung transplantation, while updating everyone on the new UNOS lung allocation scoring system. Finally, Drs Michael Madani and Stuart Jamieson share their institutions’ phenomenal, robust experience with pulmonary thromboendarterectomy for patients affected by chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH), emphasizing that surgery remains the only option for these patients. A panel discussion with both medical and surgical experts highlights their viewpoint on how physicians should confront the challenges they face when their PAH patients are being considered for general surgical procedures. Discussion of this subject matter is undoubtedly timely as PAH patients are surviving longer and physicians are increasingly challenged by these clinical issues related to their care.
Srinivas Murali, MD
Articles
Advances in Pulmonary Hypertension,
Summer 2007, Vol. 6, 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.
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 do everything 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 other allied 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.
