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Final Program


Schedule at a Glance
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Program: Scientific Session
General Topic: Clinical

Updates in Pulmonary Hypertension in Connective Tissue Diseases

Monday, October 27, 2025
8:30 AM – 9:30 AM Central Time

    Moderator(s)

  • AH

    Alana Haussmann, MD

    University of California Los Angeles
    Santa Monica, CA, United States

    Disclosure(s): No financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose

  • Lorinda Chung, MD, MS

    Professor of Medicine and Dermatology
    Stanford University
    Woodside, California, United States

    Disclosure(s): AbbVie/Abbott: Advisor or Review Panel Member (Ongoing); Boehringer-Ingelheim: Advisor or Review Panel Member (Ongoing); CRISPR Tx: Consultant (Terminated); Genentech: Consultant (Ongoing); Kyverna: Consultant (Terminated), Speaker/Honoraria (includes speakers bureau, symposia, and expert witness) (Terminated); MItsubishi Tanabe: Advisor or Review Panel Member (Terminated)

    • Session Coordinator(s)

  • Elizabeth Volkmann, MD, MS

    Associate Professor, Division of Rheumatology
    University of California, Los Angeles
    Los Angeles, California, United States

    Disclosure(s): AbbVie/Abbott: Consultant (Ongoing); AstraZeneca: Grant/Research Support (Ongoing); Atyr Pharma: Grant/Research Support (Ongoing); Boehringer-Ingelheim: Consultant (Ongoing), Grant/Research Support (Ongoing), Speaker/Honoraria (includes speakers bureau, symposia, and expert witness) (Ongoing); GlaxoSmithKlein(GSK): Consultant (Ongoing), Grant/Research Support (Ongoing); Horizon: Grant/Research Support (Ongoing); Kadmon: Grant/Research Support (Ongoing); Prometheus: Grant/Research Support (Ongoing)

The rheumatologist plays a central role in screening for pulmonary hypertension, a leading cause of death in autoimmune rheumatic diseases. This session will review the prevalence of pulmonary hypertension in autoimmune rheumatic diseases and the importance of timely screening. This multidisciplinary session will feature the expert perspective of a rheumatologist and cardiologist. In addition to reviewing optimal screening and diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension, this session will demonstrate new evidence for treating pulmonary hypertension. Specifically, this session will help the learner understand how the treatment may differ for patients with different rheumatic diseases.

Learning Objectives:

  • Determine the optimal time to screen for pulmonary hypertension in patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases
  • Compare strategies for screening and diagnosing pulmonary hypertension in patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases
  • Utilize emerging data from clinical trials to select treatment for pulmonary hypertension in patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases

Presentations:

  • 8:30 AM – 9:00 AM Central Time
    Personalized Approach to Screening and Diagnosis of Pulmonary Hypertension in Connective Tissue Diseases

    Speaker: Kristin B. Highland, MD – Cleveland Clinic

  • 9:00 AM – 9:30 AM Central Time
    Novel Therapies for Pulmonary Hypertension in Connective Tissues: A Cardiology Perspective

    Speaker: Benjamin Freed, MD – Northwestern