About PVRI

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) within the next two decades. We will achieve this through global collaboration, striving for excellence in clinical care, research and education in PVD.

Who we are

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.

Our Members

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.