The Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) International Conference brought together a community of more than 1,000 attendees, including those living with PH and members of their care teams, from June 9-12, 2022. The conference featured personal patient and caregiver insights, latest treatment therapies, and updates on new innovative medical research advancements. In line with PHA’s mission to empower those living with PH and to continue to search for a cure, this year’s conference theme was “PHacing the Future Together.”

Last week, we were excited to celebrate our founder and CEO, Shavini Fernando, as she was a Washington Business Journal 40 Under 40 award recipient. The event, held at Convene located at 1201 Wilson Boulevard in Arlington, highlighted the achievements and accomplishments of 40 enthusiastic and savvy business leaders in the Washington DC region.

A note from our CEO:

April 10 marked the three-year anniversary of OxiWear. What started as an idea to help me monitor my oxygen levels in an accurate, unobtrusive and stylish way, has led to a journey of founding a startup company, learning to pitch in a multitude of competitions, networking across the globe, and becoming a female entrepreneur and CEO . My passion for OxiWear not only stems from the idea that it will help me (a pulmonary hypertension patient), but it remains steadfast from the support I have received from people around the world, wishing for the success of the company, so they can use the product themselves or recommend it to a loved one or someone they know.

As spring and summer loom upon us, pools begin to open for leisure as well as competitive training. A recent Swimming World article titled, Be Safe: The Dangers of Hypoxic Training and Risks of Shallow Water Blackout, reiterates the importance of pool safety and focuses on a serious aspect for competitive swimmers and free divers – hypoxic blackout. Hypoxic blackout can have fatal consequences if not understood by swimmers and lifeguards alike. According to the Center of Disease Control (CDC), eleven people die each day from drowning, which is ranked fifth as a leading cause of unintentional injury death in the United States alone. Hypoxic blackout is an under-reported accident that happens too often in the pool. For every fatality, there are an additional five people who require emergency care, and of those five, more than half require hospitalization and experience severe brain damage.

As students across the nation head out for their spring break trips, many either venture to the beach or hit the slopes. Both offer different experiences and adventures. If you chose to hit the slopes or are planning a trip for spring hiking, there are a few important insights to consider, as referenced in the Summit Daily’s 2019 article titled, “Pushing the limit: Understanding the body’s performance at high elevation” (Dutta, 2019).

On March 2, 2022, OxiWear announced its exciting partnership with Gibraltar-based E.P. Global Events Limited, which organizes the World’s Highest Obstacle Course Racing (OCR), ALTITUDE OCR World Series, World Finals and World Championships. E.P. Global Events Limited facilitates feats of human nature – trekking to great altitudes, constructing obstacle courses at these locations, and designing endurance distance races that take place on Mount Everest, Mount Kilimanjaro, and other locations defying the tree line across the globe.