About the Authors

Sandeep Sahay

Roles Conceptualization, Methodology, Supervision, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

ssahay@houstonmethodist.org

Affiliation Houston Methodist Lung Center, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, Texas, United States of America

Adriano R. Tonelli

Roles Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Respiratory Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America

Mona Selej

Roles Funding acquisition, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc., South San Francisco, California, United States of America

Zachary Watson

Roles Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Putnam Associates, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America

Raymond L. Benza

Roles Writing – review & editing

Affiliations Houston Methodist Lung Center, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, Texas, United States of America, Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America

Competing Interests

The authors have read the journal’s policy and have the following potential competing interests: MS is a paid employee of Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. SS is a speaker and advisor for Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc., United Therapeutics, and Bayer Pharmaceuticals. ZW was initially contracted with Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc., to collect and analyze the data herein but performed subsequent analyses, manuscript writing, and data checks on a voluntary basis. RLB’s institution has received grants from The American Heart Association, Bayer, The National Institutes of Health/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NIH/NHLBI), and United Therapeutics. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials. There are no patents, products in development or marketed products associated with this research to declare.