Travel Bursary Report, Junaid Zaman, ACC 2015

American College of Cardiology,
San Diego 13-16th March 2015
BCS Conference Report

The Conference

The 64th  Annual Scientific Session & Expo had a theme of ‘more learning less  lecturing’ which it promoted by changing speaker room layouts, increased panel  discussion of topics and also having a journal club format breakfast meeting in  an outside auditorium – only possible in a venue with guaranteed sun like San  Diego. All these measures helped break the usual format of large meetings where  one can spend an entire day without seeing daylight!  

The meeting  opened with a combination of talks that really set the patient at the center of  the meeting – ACC President Patrick O’Gara discussed funding issues in the  current climate and how these would hinder delivery of cutting edge findings to  novel treatments.  He was followed by a  superb Dack lecture delivered by Dr Abraham Verghese, a non-cardiologist who  reminded us of the emotional connotations of the term ‘heart’ with a lecture  steeped in literary references and elegant anecdote to really inspire the  audience to retain a patient centered focus as we discuss the latest advances  in the science of the ‘heart’ over the next few days.

As a  fellow-in-training member, it was also inspiring to have an intimate Q&A  with Dr Valentin Fuster, who spoke of his advice on how to maintain a work-life  balance, be a successful clinician scientist and many other pearls of advice  from one of the most accomplished cardiologists of his generation.

From the two  late breaking trials that immediately followed the opening lecture through to  the last AF core curriculum session on Monday, there was a plethora of  educational opportunities on offer for trainees to really advance their  knowledge.  

Some select  highlights were:

 
• Case based  discussion of patients with AF, where a speaker gave a short clinical vignette  before then having panel discussion (including patient representatives) and  audience voting to discuss the case management in real time.
 
• Young  Investigator Awards in multiple categories in which revealed the strength and  depth of work being performed by trainees across the world.
 
• An all-day  Cardiovascular Translational Research Symposium on the final day showcasing  areas of genuine bench to bedside potential.
 
• The Eugene  Braunwald Lecture by Salim Yusuf on ‘The Global Epidemic of Cardiovascular  Disease’.

This year’s  meeting had a dedicated track to innovation and this was highlighted in an  excellent session on ‘Advances in Biotechnology and Translational Medicine’  debate on the role of academia and industry in fostering innovation.  It was also exemplified by a superb state of  the art update on bioresorbable scaffolds (BRS) with two giants in the field –  Dr Gregg Stone and Dr Patrick Serruys, which showed how far we have come with  this technology and what hurdles there are still to tackle.

Moderated Poster Presentation

The poster  hall had small ‘theatres’ where attendees could listen to the moderated posters  and also then dip in and out of the poster boards.  My abstract was selected for the ‘Translating  Arrhythmia Mechanisms to Therapy’ session that was chaired by Dr Peng  Shen-Chen, current editor of Heart Rhythm Journal and Dr Siva Mulpuru of the  Mayo Clinic. I presented from an ipad, focussing the audience’s attention on  relevant area of the poster by zooming in on the screen, and moving the screen  to each new area as I moved through the 10-minute presentation.  It was my first time presenting in this  format and took a bit of practice to not make the audience feel nauseous if you  rushed from figure to figure too quickly!   The talk was well received and there was a stimulating Q&A session  after, with some researchers from groups with similar data reaching out to me  throughout the rest of the meeting.  

Outside the Conference

In addition  to the programmed activities, ACC also provided the opportunity to meet with  colleagues from all over the world, including current collaborators based in  San Diego and the expo was a great place to meet with industry colleagues showcasing  the latest technology available for patient care.  Despite the great weather, a lot of the  meetings I attended had to turn people away to spill-over auditoriums as they  were full occupancy. I stayed in Coronado and really enjoyed the shuttle bus to  the conference each morning that went over the Coronado Bay Bridge, offering  great views of downtown San Diego and the waterfront.  The meeting also coincided with St Patrick’s  day, so there was a great atmosphere in the historic Gaslamp Quarter afterwards  to enjoy.

In summary,  my first ACC attendance was a great way to obtain valuable feedback on research  presented, update knowledge in and out of my area of EP and connect with peers  and leaders in the field from all across the world – a truly productive weekend  spent in beautiful San Diego. Next year’s meeting in Chicago (April 2-4 2016)  is already in the diary.  Sadly the  outdoor breakfast journal club may not prove as popular…

Dr Junaid Zaman
Cardiology ST5
NW London