Kicking off on February 9-11 in Washington, the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Advancing the Cardiovascular Care of the Oncology Patient course is an interdisciplinary course that highlights emerging strategies and best practices for managing the heart health of cancer patients.

While heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, cancer takes second place with an estimated 1.9 million new cases in 2022.

The fields of cardiology and oncology experience significant overlap, with several cancer treatments linked to an increased risk of long-term CV events, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, peripheral arterial disease and more.

Therefore, it’s crucial that cardiologists and oncologists share knowledge on the different types of cancers and fully understand the impact of cancer therapies on a patient’s heart health.

The ACC Advancing the Cardiovascular Care of the Oncology Patient course equips the cardio-oncology community with the knowledge they need to mitigate cardiovascular risks and foster collaborative cardiovascular and cancer care for patients.

“Our goals are to equip the community with the necessary, actionable scientific knowledge to care for the growing population of patients living with and beyond cancer,” said Bonnie Ky, MD, MSCE, FACC, ACC Advancing the Cardiovascular Care of the Oncology Patient course co-chair.

“We hope to see you at the Heart House or virtually for high yield learning and community building.”

Ana Barac, MD, PhD, FACC, and Bonnie Ky, MD, MSCE, FACC, will serve as co-chairs for the course. Laleh Amiri Kordestani, MD, will present the plenary session “Perspective From the U.S. Food and Drug Administration: How to Keep Pace With New Drug Development and Drug Safety.” Other must-see sessions include:

• Decoding Immunotherapy: Applying Diagnostic Criteria and Navigating the Complexities of Management
• Spotlight on Lung Cancer: Case Insights Into Radiation, ICI and EGFR Therapies
• Surviving and Thriving: Promoting CV Health in Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancers
• Guarding the Heart: Non-Pharmacologic and Pharmacologic Strategies
• Evidence-Based Approaches to Cancer Patient Stratification – Imaging, Biomarkers and More

Pre-Conference Workshop

There will be a pre-conference workshop on Friday, February 9 from 2:00-5:30 p.m. ET. The workshop provides an opportunity for cardio-oncology experts to connect and explore the following topics:

• Pharmacology 101
• How Do I Grow My Career in Cardio-Oncology? Educational Training, Financial Considerations, and Research and Publishing in Cardio-Oncology
• What I Wish I Knew Before (panel discussion)

During the workshop, ACC Vice President Cathleen Biga, MSN, FACC, will lead a session on “Financial and Clinical Considerations in Building a Cardio-Oncology Program.”

“I am excited about interactive, evidence-based learning that spans all areas of cardio-oncology,” said Ana Barac, MD, PhD, FACC, ACC Advancing the Cardiovascular Care of the Oncology Patient course co-chair.

“Our dynamic sessions with oncology and cardiology perspectives are among my favorites of this course: they teach us how to solve challenging cases in daily practice through collaboration.”

Abstracts and Posters

The following abstracts are a selection of the posters being presented. All abstracts are embargoed until Friday, February 9, 2024, at 12 p.m. ET.

• Cardio-Oncology & Sleep Apnea: The Missing Link?
• A Broken Heart or a Heart on Fire: Differentiating between Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy and Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Myocarditis
• Coronary Artery Calcium Progression on Non-Cardiac Gated CT Scans Following Breast Cancer Radiotherapy

All live sessions will be streamed virtually during the course and all content will be available to attendees on the virtual platform until February 19. It will later be moved to ACC Anywhere.

If you would like to receive embargoed copies of these abstracts or register for media access to the conference, contact ACC Associate Director for Media Relations Katie Glenn at kglenn@acc.org.

Source: American College of Cardiology