3rd Emirates Thoracic Society Scientific Meeting: Pulmonary Hypertension, March 23, 2022
The 3rd scientific meeting of the Emirates Thoracic Society, supported by Janssen, was a unique informative webinar. The success of the interactive sessions was attributed to 641 participants from 21 countries around the world helping them to know more about the developments in the field of Pulmonary Hypertension, understand the current trends in diagnosis and medication, and earn 2 CME hours.
Prof. Ashraf Alzaabi, president of Emirates Thoracic Society and the Chief of Medicine at Zayed Military Hospital in Abu Dhabi, has appointed Dr. Mohammed Bader Alseiari, President of the Pulmonary Hypertension Group at the Emirates Thoracic Society, and Consultant Pulmonologist, Consultant Respiratory Medicine, Mediclinic Middle East, UAE, as the Webinar Chairman but due to an emergency, Dr. Mohammed could not attend and the webinar has been chaired by Dr. Hani Sabbour, Assistant Professor of Cardiology, Brown University Medical School, Rhode Island, USA, Consultant Cardiologist and Electrophysiologist, Consultant Advanced Heart Failure & Pulmonary Hypertension, Abu Dhabi, UAE, who delivered the opening remarks and has officially introduced the speakers Dr. Majdy Idrees, Adjunct Professor of Pulmonary Medicine University of British Columbia, Canada, Consultant, Pulmonary Medicine Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Riyadh, KSA, and Dr. Mohammed Al-Houqani, President of Sleep Disordered Breathing Group Emirates Thoracic Society, Associate Professor, UAE University, Consultant, Sleep Disorder Specialized Clinic.
Dr. Majdy’s lecture was centered on Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Management of Naive Patient. The presentation has concentrated on the question, how bad is the Pulmonary Hypertension? Indeed it is one the worst diseases when it comes to the prognosis, he answered. He also mentioned the five groups of PH. And finally, he gave a message: “Without right heart catheterization, there is no pulmonary hypertension service”, explaining the treatment goals and risk assessment.
The second session by Dr. Hani Sabbour discussed the Optimizing Treatment Strategy in PAH Patients. First he started with a definition of PH which is a general term for a group of diseases that affect the small vessels of the pulmonary circulation. Then he answered why should we assess risk of mortality and disease progression? To avoid worsening RV function which is equal death! Use of double and triple combination therapy is supported by robust evidence and is recommended in almost all patients, he added
Dr. Mohammed Al-Houqani focused on Pulmonary Hypertension in OSA. In this lecture he discussed 2 cases were referred from PH clinic to r/o OSA, he showed a figure on acute effect of OSA on hemodynamics, Patients with comorbidities are at higher risk of PH and the CPAP therapy has potential to improve pulmonary hemodynamic, however more studies are needed, he said.
Webinar Chairman Dr. Hani Sabbour has conducted the Q&A session. Prof. Alzaabi has expressed his appreciation and sincere gratitude to the members for facilitating the webinar with so many participants.