Course Description and New Features

 

Valvular heart diseases are “mystery killers.”  Generally, they progress very slowly and almost imperceptibly, yet can cause sudden and unexpected death.  They are among the most prominent causes of heart failure and premature cardiac death.  It is estimated that more than 10 million Americans have some type of heart valve abnormality, and in approximately five million, the disease is moderate to severe.  Three to four million will require surgery at some time in their lives. 

These numbers will grow as the population ages, since heart valve diseases develop and progress with aging.  Since other causes of relatively early death are diminishing, valve diseases are emerging as an important public health concern.

Valves in the Heart of the Big Apple VI:  Evaluation & Management of Valvular Heart Diseases 2010 will provide the target audience — cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons, physicians, anesthesiologists, engineers, basic researchers and other health care professionals — with state-of-the-art information about how to deal with this growing public health problem. 

In this program, the latest strategies for evaluation and management of patients with valvular heart diseases will be presented. In addition, the pathophysiological basis of outcomes, including most recent data concerning myocardial responses at the cellular and molecular levels, will be discussed to elucidate the foundation for future therapy.

In addition to state-of-the-art lectures, oral and moderated poster presentations will provide information about current original research across the spectrum of valve diseases.

Valves in the Heart of the Big Apple VI: Evaluation and Management of Valvular Heart Diseases 2010 will get to the core of major valvular heart disease issues.

New & Recently-Updated Features

• Current criteria for surgical intervention
• Cell and molecular biology of valve and/or myocardial dysfunction in valve disease
• Generally-accepted and recently-emerging predictors of prognostically- important deterioration among common lesions
• Current approaches to preparation of the patient with valve disease for anesthesia
• Emerging data on the use of percutaneous techniques for valve repair and replacement
• Regulatory concerns related to development of percutaneous valves
• Basis for operation in patients with multivalve disease
• Current data on selection among bioprosthetic valves and between mechanical and bioprosthetic valves
• The controversial role of drug prophylaxis for asymptomatic patients
• Predictive value of ventricular arrhythmias in patients with valve disease
• Current perspective on  aortic valve repair for aortic valve diseases in association with aortic aneurysm — long–term followup and new approaches to selection of candidates
• Relative efficacy of medical and surgical therapies for mitral regurgitation secondary to cardiomyopathy
• Impact of age on morbidity and mortality in valve surgery — an update
• Anti-coagulation strategy in valve disease and after valve replacement
• Criteria for mitral valve surgery when mitral regurgitation is secondary to ischemic injury