Stroke can be devastating and lead to significant disability and/or death. Diagnosing and treating stroke symptoms as well as factors associated with transient ischemic attacks—often a stroke warning sign—are of paramount importance. The faculty in this talk will discuss the crucial role of the primary care team in post-stroke care and how you can ensure the best recovery for your patients who have suffered from stroke.

This talk will review the new ACC-AHA Hypertension guidelines and emphasize what’s old, what’s new, and what has changed.

Heart failure (HF) affects 5.7 million men and women in the United States, with 915,000 new cases occurring annually and a resultant 1,000,000 hospitalizations, which translates into an annual estimated cost of over $30 billion dollars. Mortality with this condition is high, approximately 50% at five years. Implementation of the advances in management of heart failure have the potential to improve patients' quality of life, reduce the need for hospitalizations, reduce total medical costs, and prolong survival. This lecture will review the current evidence-based, guideline recommended diagnosis and management of heart failure. The essential roles of evidence-based heart failure medications, device therapy, patient education, and disease management will be discussed.

The epidemiology of acute coronary syndromes has changed dramatically in the past few decades, with lower overall incidence of myocardial infarction (MI) -- particularly ST elevation MI -- and improved survival after an incident MI. The diagnosis and classification of MI is challenging, particularly in the era of sensitive troponin assays. Clinicians must be aware of the frequent occurrence and causes of troponin elevations from conditions other than MI. Following diagnosis, risk stratification for patients with non-ST elevation ACS is critical to making prudent decisions and selecting among the multitude of different options for invasive and medical therapies. When considering potent antiplatelet and antithrombotic therapies, it is of paramount importance to also consider bleeding risk. Primary care clinicians play a critical role in determining the optimal duration of dual antiplatelet therapy, ensuring appropriate use and adherence to evidence-based medical therapies, and addressing lifestyle factors that can help prevent or modify the course after an ACS event.

Get your questions answered by expert faculty in Cardiology. You ask: we listen. You will learn practical solutions to common clinical challenges and tips to apply the latest knowledge in practice.

Get your questions answered by expert faculty in Cardiology. You ask: we listen. You will learn practical solutions to common clinical challenges and tips to apply the latest knowledge in practice.

This talk will discuss venous anatomy, the pathophysiology of venous disease and the modern treatment of venous insufficiency and varicose veins. Special attention is also given to the treatment of venous ulceration, as well as issues related to venous disease and the elderly.

Sudden cardiac death of a young athlete is a rare but devastating event. The pre-participation exam consists of a history and physical, however the sensitivity of this is poor. This talk will review the evaluation recommended by the American Heart Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Family Physician, as well as the more controversial widespread screening with electrocardiogram and limited focus cardiac ultrasound.

This talk will emphasize new guidelines for cardiovascular disease prevention, highlighting the big three risk factors: hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes. The talk will also discuss controversies and commonalities, and offer practical tips for implementing the guidelines.

This talk will review data on the current diagnosis and management of acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Participants will learn about the scope of the clinical problem, the pathophysiology of ACS, and diagnostic strategies and cardiac markers as well as receive updates on clinical trials data, guideline recommendations, and management strategies. In particular, the speaker will focus on acute management and Class I recommended long-term therapies in the current guidelines that reduce the risk of recurrent events and mortality.

Evidence from real world studies on the effectiveness, safety, and dosing of non-vitamin-K oral anticoagulants (NOACs) provides crucial insights on the treatment of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). In this program, you will learn to assess the quality of these studies and compare the relevance, validity, and utility of the results to those of randomized controlled trials. Judicial assessment and appropriate incorporation of real world data into clinical practice can improve the care of your patients with AF and other conditions.

In this session, you will receive the most important cardiology updates from 2018-2019, including trial evidence for dietary supplements in the prevention of cardiovascular disease and new information about the blood cholesterol guidelines. The session will also provide advice on how to differentiate between opportunistic and systematic screening for atrial fibrillation as well as identify ways to conduct this screening in practice.