Get ready for SCAI, HRS
This is the month for subspecialty cardiology conferences in the U.S., with two major meetings setting anchors on each coast.
Unfortunately, one conference that touches on quality and outcomes was canceled this week. The American Heart Association decided to scuttle its annual Quality of Care and Outcomes Research (QCOR) conference in Baltimore because of unrest in the city. Baltimore imposed a curfew after rioting over the death of 25-year-old man who had been in police custody.
The event was scheduled to run from April 29 through May 1. While it no doubt is a disappointment for planners, presenters and attendees, some of the findings will still be shared.
The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) will hold its annual scientific session on May 6-9 in San Diego. The program targets interventional cardiologists specifically, offering presentations designed to expand participants’ clinical and practice management knowledge and skills.
The success of last year’s inaugural Cath Lab Leadership Boot Camp inspired planners to include it again in 2015, but with updates and refinements. You can learn more about the boot camp here.
Scientific presentations are broken into tracks, and there will be six late-breaking clinical trials. Go here for the roster.
Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) has booked its annual scientific session for May 13-16 in Boston. The conference provides updates for electrophysiologists and other cardiology subspecialists who deal with arrhythmias by addressing topics such as lead and device management, ablation, heart failure and basic and translational sciences.
HRS also will unveil several sessions of late-breaking clinical trials. Look for more details on that at a later date.
While interventional cardiology, electrophysiology and heart failure often appear device-driven, the president of HRS shared his enthusiasm for a completely different approach during an interview with Cardiovascular Business. The conversation, a preliminary chat before launching into a Q&A, focused on the American College of Cardiology’s (ACC) conference in March.
Richard I. Fogel, MD, singled out LEGACY (Long-Term Effect of Goal Directed Weight Management in an Atrial Fibrillation Cohort: A Long-term Follow-Up StudY) as the ACC’s blockbuster late-breaker. LEGACY showed that obese patients who lost weight had a greater chance of arrhythmia-free survival, especially among those who lost weight and maintained it. You can read the Q&A here.
Keep an eye out for coverage from these upcoming conferences. We will try to touch on not only the late-breakers but many of the other presentations and posters that inform better patient care and practice.
Candace Stuart
Editor, Cardiovascular Business