At the end of three inspiring days at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions (AHA18) in Chicago, I took advantage of my late night return flight to spend the afternoon at the Art Institute of Chicago. The museum has one of the finest collections of impressionist paintings, and I’m a big fan. Impressionist artists in the … Read more
AHA Scientific Sessions 2018 was a unique experience for me – unable to attend the meeting, I live-streamed the sessions (first time ever for a conference!). Two of my most favorite sessions this year were the panel discussion for advanced heart failure (HF) patients, “The Metabolic Face of Heart Failure,” and the mini-symposium on “Cutting Edge … Read more
As we were wrapping up our first editorial meeting for the AHA Early Career Bloggers on Saturday at Scientific Sessions 2018, the new bloggers were given this advice: “Over the next three days, do something [at Scientific Sessions] outside of your comfort zone.” This year’s Scientific Sessions offered some novel experiences – augmented reality in … Read more
There are many scientific sessions happening around the globe that issue continuous medical education (CME) credits. Although the AHA Scientific Sessions 2018 covered a wide breadth of topics, I took particular interest in how the new Lipid Management Guidelines apply to women. My previous blog ended by citing a clinic encounter with a female patient. … Read more
What ‘intervention’ reduces risk for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, cardiac and cerebrovascular events, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, lipid disorders, and cancer of the bladder, breast, colon, endometrium, esophagus, kidney, stomach, and lung? As an interventional cardiologist and outcomes researcher, I would have been happy to attribute this to the latest device/procedure or a cure-all pill. … Read more
Atrial fibrillation (AF) increases risk of stroke up to 5 folds, resulting in considerable physical, cognitive impairment and high mortality1. Thus, AF related strokes are very expensive to treat compared to non-AF strokes2. Oral anticoagulation is a well-established therapy in the majority of stroke cases3. Warfarin reduces the risk of stroke by 64% and mortality … Read more
During Scientific Sessions 2018, I was able to remotely attend several great and informative lectures pertaining to the management of cardiovascular diseases. I was especially interested in the sessions related to antithrombotic therapy as this directly applies to my daily practice of Vascular Neurology. One of those sessions focused on management of tricky situations in … Read more
Cardiovascular risk assessment is a process, not just a calculation! This year, I was very pleased to attend the 2018 guidelines for cholesterol management at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions – Chicago 2018. I highly recommend that you check the guidelines as there are many changes that may impact your daily practice. Here, … Read more
At my first two AHA Scientific Sessions, I sat in the Main Event Hall, shoulder-to-shoulder with my co-fellows, eagerly awaiting the results of the Late Breaking Clinical Trials and guideline updates. I remember whispers cascading across the room after the presentation of NEAT-HFpEF in 2015 and the hundreds of cellphones in the air snapping pictures … Read more
Life as a resident physician can be demanding at times. The long hours, the difficult task of cross covering multiple wards, and the emotional toll of caring for sick patients are all factors that can make residency a difficult road to travel. It can be easy to lose sight of the bigger picture and in … Read more