Structural heart disease specialist takes helm of ACC patient engagement initiative

Megan Coylewright, MD, MPH, is the new editor of the American College of Cardiology’s CardioSmart patient engagement initiative. She will serve a three-year term.

Coylewright, a structural interventional cardiologist, currently serves as the vice chief of cardiology faculty development and director of the structural heart program at Erlanger Health System in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Much of her recent work has been focused on minimally invasive options for the treatment of heart disease.

"The role of editor of CardioSmart is an ideal blend of my daily clinical work performing transcatheter valve repair and replacement, research in shared decision-making, and our community and nationally-based efforts to ensure we are using best practices in promoting diversity, inclusion and belonging in all that we do," she said in a prepared statement. "I am thrilled to work with the talented staff of CardioSmart. Together, we will partner with patients and the cardiovascular care team to further embed the patient voice in our daily practices, scholarship, guidelines and clinical trials."

Among Coylewright's responsibilities will be acting as an advisor and helping to ensure the clinical accuracy of content developed for CardioSmart.

She will also: "assist in developing innovative strategies to help the ACC best engage, educate and activate the diversity of cardiovascular patients in their care."

CardioSmart is an online resource designed to help patients and clinicians learn more about specific heart conditions and engage in impactful conversations. Click here for more information.

Around the web

Ron Blankstein, MD, professor of radiology, Harvard Medical School, explains the use of artificial intelligence to detect heart disease in non-cardiac CT exams.

Eleven medical societies have signed on to a consensus statement aimed at standardizing imaging for suspected cardiovascular infections.

Kate Hanneman, MD, explains why many vendors and hospitals want to lower radiology's impact on the environment. "Taking steps to reduce the carbon footprint in healthcare isn’t just an opportunity," she said. "It’s also a responsibility."