Hands Across the Ocean: Building a
Bridge to an International Pulmonary
Hypertension Community
A vision that began 6 years ago in Chicago has become a dynamic
reality. At the end of its conference in June 2000 the Pulmonary
Hypertension Association (PHA) called its first meeting of international
attendees. About a dozen international registrants initiated
the formation of new relationships marked by continuing contact
with PHA. Those of us who met with our internationally based
colleagues at the Seventh International Pulmonary Hypertension
Conference, held from June 23 to 25 in Minneapolis this year,
realized how far we have come since that conference 6 years ago. We could only
marvel at how the concept of an international meeting has grown.
A flourishing network of 20 associations in countries throughout the world is
now linked with PHA, working toward cooperative strategies, and exchanging ideas
and information on research. Groups are now serving patients in countries as
diverse as Japan, The Netherlands, Israel, Italy, Singapore, Canada, Australia,
Austria, Belgium, China, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Mexico,
Portugal, and South Africa.
From that first meeting in 2000 the concept of an international pulmonary
hypertension community, joined by organizations in many countries, quickly began
to take shape. By 2002 more than 80 people from nations in Asia, Europe, North
America, and Latin America, as well as New Zealand and Australia, attended
an international planning session. Two years later, at the Sixth International
Pulmonary Hypertension Conference, the agenda was expanded to include two
separate sessions.
We are delighted to see these ideas moving forward, spearheaded by PHA in
the United States, which accepted the challenge and agreed to act as the hub for
organizations throughout the world. To facilitate and coordinate the growth of the
international pulmonary hypertension community, PHA created an International
Desk and hired an international program associate.
The next issue of Advances in Pulmonary Hypertension will feature comprehensive
coverage of the Scientific Sessions during which a full day was devoted
to presentations from nationally and internationally renowned experts. Many of
these experts know firsthand the results produced by pulmonary hypertension
associations in their respective countries.
Although they differ in their approach, thinking globally but acting locally to
adapt to the particular needs of the pulmonary hypertension community within
their country, they share PHA’s mission to increase awareness of and information
about pulmonary hypertension, advocate for those with the disease, facilitate
access to health services, promote research at leading academic centers, and
provide patients, families, and medical professionals with an environment of
education, friendship, and support.
As diverse as our international constituency has become, these differences
begin to disappear at the international conferences where the underlying takehome
message emerges time and again: Pulmonary hypertension is not a selective
disease or endemic to any part of the world. By bringing together the resources
from all of the countries affected we can indeed more effectively pursue a
“Roadmap to a Cure,” the theme of this year’s international PHA conference.
Valerie V. McLaughlin, MD
Editor-in-Chief
Articles
Advances in Pulmonary Hypertension,
Summer 2006, Vol. 5, 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
Donica Merhazion, 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
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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.
A vision that began 6 years ago in Chicago has become a dynamic
reality. At the end of its conference in June 2000 the Pulmonary
Hypertension Association (PHA) called its first meeting of international
attendees. About a dozen international registrants initiated
the formation of new relationships marked by continuing contact
with PHA. Those of us who met with our internationally based
colleagues at the Seventh International Pulmonary Hypertension
Conference, held from June 23 to 25 in Minneapolis this year,
realized how far we have come since that conference 6 years ago. We could only
marvel at how the concept of an international meeting has grown. 
