The Pulmonary Vascular Research Institute (PVRI) was established in 2006 out of a small office in Canterbury, Kent, as a way for fellow scientists, clinicians and academics to come together and share knowledge on pulmonary vascular disease. A year later, we went from an intimate research group to being recognised as an official UK charity.

Cut to present day and our organisation is now thousands strong, with peers and members all over the world. From humble beginnings to a global healthcare and research initiative, PVRI now fights on all fronts to work toward a common goal – but what is that goal?

Our Vision & Mission Statement

Our vision is to reduce the global burden of pulmonary vascular disease (PVD). We will achieve this through global collaboration, striving for excellence in clinical care, research and education in PVD.

The Pulmonary Vascular Research Institute (PVRI) is a charity that brings the best medical professionals in the world together who have an interest in pulmonary hypertension or pulmonary vascular disease (PVD).

PVD can be more commonly described as high blood pressure in the lungs. It is a fatal illness, often mis- or undiagnosed, that can affect people of all ages and socio-economic backgrounds, including many fit young athletes. It is estimated that over 70 million people in the world suffer from PVD, although this figure was recently challenged by several observations.

An echocardiography study in a general population in central Europe estimated 2.6% pulmonary hypertension (PH) prevalence (Moreira et al, PLoS One 10(6): e0130072, 2015) among hospitalised patients in the US, the diagnosis of PH increased several-fold over the past decades and the Heart of Soweto Study demonstrated that in the context of urban migration, air pollution and high prevalence of infections approximately 20% of all hospitalised patients present with some variant of PH.

Current estimates suggest that PH is the 4th most common form of heart disease, affecting around 200 million people across the globe. The PVRI is the only global medical society dedicated to pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary vascular diseases. All of our efforts, as an organisation, are to improve the care of patients with pulmonary hypertension symptoms throughout the world by raising awareness of pulmonary vascular disease.

Our organisation facilitates the global research and development of medicines for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension and other PVD symptoms. We have established Regional and Specialist PVRI Task Forces all over the world to raise awareness of this disease and learn more about its causes, effects and how it can be treated.

The PVRI has established itself as the professional international organisation fighting pulmonary vascular disease on a global scale. Our network has expanded to over 6,300 people spread across 103 different countries worldwide, including an active membership of 1,250 pulmonary hypertension professionals. We are immensely proud of our international reach and global representation.

One Shared Goal - Two organisations with patients at the heart of everything we do.

The values of The PVRI and The Dinosaur Trust are strongly aligned. For both of our organisations, the main aims are to improve patient care and to find new drugs and treatments for patients who suffer from pulmonary hypertension, with the vision of one day finding a cure.  

The Dinosaur Trust is a patient organisation, which is set up to raise funds that are dedicated for research into pulmonary hypertension. They work closely with the PVRI to ensure research projects have the necessary funding that will make a difference and ultimately achieve our shared goal. Through our website and social channels we hope to provide a supportive community.

Our collaborators

As mentioned, we have a number of allied organisations all around the world, each contributing their own valuable resources pulmonary hypertension treatment and the further development of pulmonary vascular research.

World Health

Medical societies

Industry: Our Roundtable members

Drug regulators

Patient groups

Each year, we organise two large scientific meetings:

1. The PVRI Annual World Congress on Pulmonary Vascular Disease, which typically takes place at the end of January.
2. The PVRI Drug Discovery & Development Symposium, which is typically held in June/July.

These events take place in different countries each year and are aimed at PVRI members, drug regulatory bodies and the pharmaceutical industry as a whole.

The scientific agenda includes conference talks, discussions, interviews and abstract presentations from our global network, and the e-learning side of our site is populated by these lecture recordings and abstract submissions, which allow us to educate all areas of the world that have access to the internet.

While our educational content is distributed online, our network of doctors and clinicians also help educate other professionals on the ground. Spanning over 103 different countries, our Task Forces specialise in various different forms of the disease and aid with pulmonary vascular treatment on a regional basis.

At present, our Task Forces include: 

Disease and Speciality Task Forces

• Exercise
• Genetics & Molecular 
• High Altitude
• Infection in Pulmonary Hypertension (this includes HIV and schistosomiasis)
• Imaging
• Women’s Health & Pregnancy
• Innovative Drug Development Initiative
• Paediatric & Congenital Heart Disease
• Young Clinicians & Scientists

Regional Task Forces

• Central Asia Task Force
• China Task Force
• Eastern Mediterranean & Saudi Arabia Task Force (SAPH)
• Europe Task Force
• India Task Force
• North America Task Force
• South America Task Force
• South Africa & Sub-Saharan Africa Task Force
• South East Asia Task Force 

The PVRI is proud to work with professional partner organisations around the world. PVRI members are, in many cases, members of one or more of these organisations and are encouraged to participate in scientific and social gatherings held during partner events. We emphasise the value that all levels of collaborative effort can bring in combating a disease of common focus. Listed here are details of organisations, which we collaborate with.

Want to join PVRI?

Does PVD factor into your personal or professional life? Want to join the global fight against pulmonary vascular disease? Whether you are a pulmonary hypertension specialist, a healthcare professional, an interested academic or simply effected by PVD in any way, Join PVRI now and become one of 6000+ members in our global network.