As the broad range of topics suggests, the Third World Symposium on Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) addressed many of the issues of overriding importance to clinicians involved with treatment of the disease. Held in Venice, Italy, from June 23 to 25, the symposium attracted key opinion leaders from Europe and the United States whose research has put them on the frontier of advances in PAH. The symposium assigned topics to various task forces that met and worked toward a consensus document for key issues, such as appropriate diagnostic algorithms, functional capacity tests, and the use of echocardiography and other noninvasive tests.
The summaries presented in this issue highlight many of the trends observed by task force members in Venice and suggest future directions for research in PAH. The World Symposium on Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension has helped formulate definitions and classifications that contribute toward an improved understanding of the pathophysiology of PAH and have produced algorithms that help guide treatment strategies. A list of the task force members follows along with the topics assigned to them.
This listing of physicians indicates who attended the Third World Symposium on Pulmonary Hypertension and the Task Forces to which they were assigned as groups worked toward a consensus on selected topics. The Scientific Organizing Committee included three physicians in Europe and three in the United States. In Europe: Nazzareno Galiè, Bologna, Italy, Werner Seeger, Giessen, Germany, and Gérald Simonneau, Clamart, France. In the US, the committee included Robyn J. Barst, New York, New York, Stuart Rich, Chicago, Illinois, and Lewis J. Rubin, La Jolla, California.
Committee: Chairman and Secretary: Marc Humbert, France
Chairs: Giuseppe Pietra, Switzerland; Marlene Rabinovitch, Stanford, California; Norbert F. Voelkel, Denber, Colorado.
Members: Stephen L. Archer, Edmonton, Canada; Frederique Capron, Paris, France; Brian Christman, Nashville, Tennessee; Friedrich Grimminger, Giessen, Germany; Sheila G. Haworth, London, UK; Phillipe Hérvé, Le Plessis Robinson, France; Irene Lang, Vienna, Austria; Ornella Leone, Bologna, Italy; Margaret R. MacLean, Glasgow, UK; Nick W. Morrell, Cambridge, UK; Lynne M. Reid, Boston, Massachusetts; Kurt Stenmark, Denver, Colorado; Susan Stewart, Cambridge, UK; Rubin Tuder, Baltimore, Maryland; and E. Kenneth Weir, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Committee: Chairman and Secretary: Gregory Elliott, Salt Lake City, Utah; Chairs: John H. Newman, Nashville, Tennessee; and Richard C. Trembath, Leicester, UK.
Members: Serge Adnot, Cretail, Fraqnce; Fabio Coccolo, Bologna, Italy; Oliver Eickelberg, Giessen, Germany; Ekkehard Gruenig, Heidelberg, Germany; James A. Knowles, New York, New York; James E. Loyd, Nashville, Tennessee; Jane H. Morse, New York, New York; William C. Nichols, Cincinnati, Ohio; John A. Phillips III, Nashville, Tennessee; Werner Seeger, Giessen, Germany; and Carlo Ventura, Sassari, Italy.
Committee: Chairman and Secretary: Gérald Simonneau, Clamart, France; Chairs: Lucien Abenhaim, Paris, France; Alfred P. Fishman, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Members: Guido Domenighetti, Locarno, Switzerland; Nazzareno Galiè, Bologna, Italy; Simon Gibbs, London, UK; Miguel A. Gomez-Sanchez, Madrid, Spain; David Langleben, Montreal, Canada; Didier Lebrec, Clichy, France; Nick W. Morrell, Cambridge, UK; Robert Naeije, Brussels, Belgium; Stuart Rich, Chicago, Illinois; Lewis J. Rubin, La Jolla, California; Werner Seeger, Giessen, Germany; and Rudolf Speich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Committee: Chairman and Secretary: Robyn J. Barst, New York, NY; Chairs: Michael D. McGoon, Rochester, Minnesota; Adam Torbicki, Warsaw, Poland.
Members: Joan Albert Barbera, Barcelona, Spain; Richard N. Channick, La Jolla, California; Gerry Coghlan, London, UK; Marion Delcroix, Leuven, Belgium; Peter F. Fedullo, La Jolla, California; Adaani E. Frost, Houston, Texas; Sean P. Gaine, Dublin, Ireland; Ardeschir Ghofrani, Giessen, Germany; Marius M. Hoeper, Hannover, Germany; Marc Humbert, Clamart, France; Meinhard Kneussel, Vienna, Austria; Michael J. Krowka, Rochester, Minnesota; Alessandra Manes, Bologna, Italy; Horst Olschewswki, Giessen, Germany; Ronald J.Oudiz, Torrance, California; Andrew J. Peacock, Glasgow, UK; Joanna Pepke-Zaba, Cambridge, UK; Ivan M. Robbins, Nashville, Tennessee; Olivier Sitbon, Clamart, France; Victor F. Tapson, Durham, North Carolina; Jean-Luc Vachiéry, Brussels, Belgium; and Carmine Dario Vizza, Rome, Italy.
Committee: Chairman and Secretary: Nazzareno Galiè, Bologna, Italy; Chairs: Lewis J. Rubin, La Jolla, California; Werner Seeger, Giessen, Germany.
Members: David B. Badesch, Denver, Colorado; Joan Albert Barbera, Barcelona, Spain; Robyn J. Barst, New York, New York; Ardeschir Ghofrani, Giessen, Germany; Sheila G. Haworth, London, UK; Marius M. Hoeper, Hannover, Germany; Marc Humbert, Clamart, France; Ann Keogh, Sydney, Australia; Vallerie V. McLaughlin, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Horst Olschewski, Giessen, Germany; Ronald J. Oudiz, Torrance, California; Andrew J. Peacock, Glasgow, UK; Gerald Simonneau, Clamart, France; Olivier Sitbon, Clamart, France; Gianni Tognoni, Milan, Italy; and Adam Torbicki, Warsaw, Poland.
Committee: Chairman and Secretary: Paul Corris, Newcastle, UK; Chairs: Stuart W. Jamieson, San Diego, California; Walter Klepetko, Vienna, Austria.
Members: Phillipe Dartevelle, Le Plessis Robinson, France; Peter F. Fedullo, La Jolla, California; Michael J. Landzberg, Boston, Massachusetts; Irene Lang, Vienna, Austria; Eckhard Mayer, Mainz, Germany; Joanna Pepke-Zaba, Cambridge, UK; Julio Sandoval, Mexico City, Mexico; Elbert P. Trulock, St. Louis, Missouri; Jean-Luc Vachiéry, Brussels, Belgium.
Committee: Chairman and Secretary: Stuart Rich, Chicago, Illinois; Chairs: Robert Naeije, Brussels, Belgium; Andrew J. Peacock, Glasgow, UK.
Members: Brian Christman, Nashville, Tennessee; Gerry Coghlan, London, UK; Oliver Eickelberg, Giessen, Germany; Sean P. Gaine, Dublin, Ireland; Friedrich Grimminger, Giessen, Germany; Tim Higenbottam, Sheffield, UK; Stefan Janssens, Leuven, Belgium; John H. Newman, Nashville, Tennessee; Marlene Rabinovitch, Stanford, California; Richard C. Trembath, Leicester, UK; Norbert F. Voelkel, Denver, Colorado; and E. Kenneth Weir, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Clinical Algorithm
Diagnosis and Assessment of Pulmonary Hypertension
Michael D. McGoon, MD, Department of Cardiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
