Another successful scientific session in the books and I am already looking forward to the next one #AHA20, on to Dallas. But first, from the City of brotherly love, these are some of the highlights.
Let the countdown begin.
5) Late breaking clinical trials
There is usually a lot of noise around these sessions. People eager to learn about the new trials that may or may not affect their clinical practice, inspire new research ideas and question prior data. In Philadelphia, it was about time the long awaiting ISCHEMIA trial results go public. Practice changing or not? It’s coming out party was nail-biting and met all the expectations whether you think it will change your practice in the future or not. To quote Dr. Alice Jacobs in the New York Times, ISCHEMIA “certainly will challenge our clinical thinking”. Bottom line, my take home point from the session is simply to “Get with the Guidelines”. Adherence to GDMT is critical and presents a challenge for the best of us. Only time will tell the impact of the long-awaited ISCHEMIA results.
4) Presidential session
This year’s presidential session was mesmerizing, a bit longer understandingly so. A lot of highlights within my top 4th moment. Started with a piece from Broadway’s hit musical “HAMILTON”. If you wanted to be in the room where it (#AHA19) happened, Pennsylvania Convention Center was the place to be. From Dr. Harrington’s incredible speech highlighting the incredible of work of the AHA in advancing clinical research and education, he reminded us “Evidence Matters”
What came after was stand up ovation worthy. Several students from the city of Philadelphia walked on stage to share their stories and stand up against Vaping. This is also a reminder to all of us to stand up for our patients not only in clinics and hospitals but where ever we can make a significant contribution to their health and well-being.
Finally, the presidential sessions weren’t without emotions. From Dr. Harrington’s emotional speech about his life story to CEO Nancy Brown’s remembering Bernard Tyson: “Through his words, actions and the way he made people feel, he left the world of health care – and the world at large – better than he found it”. This truly is exemplary of great leadership.
3) Vaping
Again, AHA not only talks the talk but also walks the walk. The American Heart Association is truly invested in fighting for the young and against the vaping epidemic on a multi-level nationwide platform. The future is bright and #AHA knows it as it is highlighted with their #QuitLying initiative that empowers kids in their schools and communities to call out different vaping companies on their lies.
#QuitLying
2) Cardiomyopathy
[The “PechaKucha Potpourri”: The Key Things You Need to Know about Interesting Cardiomyopathies] session moderated by Dr. Sandra Chaparro was one of my favorites and highlighted key points regarding less common cardiomyopathies. Information covered was very concise and it was provided by the experts in their respective fields such as Sarcoidosis, Chagas Disease, Check Point inhibitors and Myocarditis, Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, Stress Cardiomyopathy, Recovered Cardiomyopathy and Peripartum Cardiomyopathy. #AHA20 needs to bring back “PechaKucha Potpourri’’.
1) Early Career Blogger
This was the first time, I attended AHA as an Early Career Blogger. This was truly a different perspective where I had a lot of fun enjoying the different sessions, twitting the different topics of interests, meeting new people and representing the #AHA19.
The views, opinions and positions expressed within this blog are those of the author(s) alone and do not represent those of the American Heart Association. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The copyright of this content belongs to the author and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with them. The Early Career Voice blog is not intended to provide medical advice or treatment. Only your healthcare provider can provide that. The American Heart Association recommends that you consult your healthcare provider regarding your personal health matters. If you think you are having a heart attack, stroke or another emergency, please call 911 immediately.