What’s new in pulmonary hypertension clinical research: lessons from the best abstracts at the 2020 American Thoracic Society International Conference

Abstract

In this conference paper, we review the 2020 American Thoracic Society (ATS) International Conference session titled, “What’s New in Pulmonary Hypertension Clinical Research: Lessons from the Best Abstracts”. This virtual mini-symposium took place on October 21, 2020, in lieu of the annual in-person ATS International Conference which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Seven clinical research abstracts were selected for presentation in the session, which encompassed five major themes: (1) standardizing diagnosis and management of pulmonary hypertension, (2) improving risk assessment in pulmonary arterial hypertension, (3) evaluating biomarkers of disease activity, (4) understanding metabolic dysregulation across the spectrum of pulmonary hypertension, and (5) advancing knowledge in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. Focusing on these five thematic contexts we review the current state of knowledge, summarize presented research abstracts, appraise their significance and limitations, and then discuss relevant future directions in pulmonary hypertension clinical research.