ATS
Meeting Serves as Useful Measure
Of Rising Interest in Pulmonary Hypertension
This year’s meeting of the American
Thoracic Society (ATS) was exciting from several vantage
points, including the fact that it was the 100th anniversary
of the ATS, a striking achievement for this venerable
organization. The ATS meeting is the largest gathering
of pulmonary and critical care specialists in the
world. For those of us
involved with or closely following developments in
pulmonary hypertension
(PH), the meeting was also notable because of the
extensive focus devoted to PH at this meeting, in
scientific sessions, debates,
abstracts, and original research. As a moderator for
some of these sessions, I was fortunate enough to
personally become part of the lively and challenging
discussions, including the controversies that fueled
the debates.
Evidence of the growing interest in
PH at this meeting can be quantified if one likes
to keep track statistically of such trends. The ATS
web site, for example, lists 322 abstracts on PH alone.
This number is a good barometer for the rising interest
in PH, especially when one considers that in 2004
the ATS had 272 abstracts on PH featured in its program.
One of the abstracts in the 2005 session concerning
the relationship of hypoxemia to pulmonary artery
pressure in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)
was presented by Duke University investigators, including
Victor F. Tapson, MD, my predecessor as Editor-in-Chief
of Advances in Pulmonary Hypertension,
and his colleague, Richard C. Redman, MD.
Although PH associated with hypoxemic
lung disease is a common problem, it is
one of those areas where we need more information
to more precisely identify how it should be classified.
As their abstract and poster pointed out, little data
exist regarding hypoxemia in patients with PAH. While
it might appear intuitive, a clear correlation between
hypoxemia and pulmonary artery pressure in this disease
has not been
shown, yet further characterization of this relationship
may provide insight into the pathophysiology and clinical
manifestations of PAH. As the conclusion notes:
patients with severe PAH were significantly more hypoxemic
than patients with mild to moderate PAH. Drs Tapson
and Redman conclude that hypoxemia is generally more
pronounced as PAH becomes more severe and may be more
important in the pathophysiology of PAH than previously
appreciated.
For more insights on this relationship,
I encourage readers to review the information in an
article by Robert Schilz, DO, PhD, in this issue,
as well as the Roundtable discussion chaired by Richard
Channick, MD. We would like to express our appreciation
to Dr Channick for serving as the Guest Editor of
this issue and bringing together the editorial content
focusing on PH associated with lung diseases.
Vallerie V. McLaughlin, MD
Editor-in-Chief
Articles
Advances in Pulmonary Hypertension,
Summer 2005, Vol. 4, 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.
ATS
Meeting Serves as Useful Measure 
