With a record-breaking number of abstract submissions, the quality improvement projects presented at ACC Quality Summit 2026 reflect an ongoing commitment to improve cardiovascular care through innovation, collaboration and quality. Read on for highlights from the top ePosters.

1st Place Winner: Sarah Clines, MBA, from Baylor Scott & White The Heart Hospital in Plano, TX, sought to determine whether discrepancies in appropriate use criteria (AUC) categorization for PCI procedures were due to patient selection or data validation gaps within the ACC's CathPCI Registry abstraction process. By implementing a structured, multidisciplinary review of AUC-designated cases, Clines found a 58% reduction in "rarely appropriate" cases, 14% average increase in appropriate classifications, 57% average reduction in "may be appropriate" cases and 25% increase in inter-rater agreement rates.

"Reframing AUC outliers as validation triggers rather than performance judgements created a reproducible process that enhances registry integrity, supports appropriate patient selection, and can be adopted by other programs seeking to improve quality reporting," Clines states.

2nd Place Winner: Abhinav Singh, MD, et al., from HCA Bayonet Point in Hudson, FL, investigated sex differences in device-related complication risk at one year post left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO). Including 2,817 patients (1,351 women; 1,466 men) across eight hospitals captured by ACC's LAAO Registry, they found women exhibited a 70% higher risk for the complication compared to men (hazard ratio 1.70 [95% CI,1.05-3.03]; p=0.007).

"This disparity persisted despite overlap propensity weighting, supporting sex-specific surveillance and further investigation into anatomical or biological risks," they write.

3rd Place Winner: Misty L. Theriot, BSN, RN, CPHQ, FACC, and J. Gregory Lugo, MD, from Lake Charles Memorial Hospital in Lake Charles, LA, worked to build a pathway to promote more equitable access to TAVR care at their site. By adding an Epic social drivers of health (SDOH) screening to their existing structural heart checklist and having the valve clinic coordinator screen every referral, Theriot and Lugo saw measurable improvements in care coordination, including a decrease from 31% to 3% missed or rescheduled visits, time from referral to treatment down to 20 days, and 0% 30-day readmission in 2025. Resources activated for those at moderate or high SDOH risk included gas cards, financial grants, food resources, ride-share trips, dental support and housing support.

"Partnerships, referral intake and SDOH screening, and dashboard tracking made barriers actionable and improved care progression," they write. "Resource pathways must exist before screening so identified needs can be met."

Additional Quality Summit ePoster highlights include the People's Choice Awardee Joshua Hutz, MSN, RN, from AdventHealth in Ocala, FL, whose project focused on improving patient outcomes by addressing a gap identified through the ACC's Heart Failure Accreditation process.

There were also three honorable mention awardees:

• Enhancing Value in TAVR Programs: Financial Stewardship in a Shifting Health Care Landscape
  Lara Mason, BSN, RN, CV-BC
  WellSpan Health York Hospital | York, PA
• From Door-to-Data: How a CV Nurse Quality Role Improves Chest Pain Outcomes and Registry Metrics
  Shelley Langenhorst, DNP, RN, AACC, CNE, CV-BC
  CommonSpirit Mercy Hospital | Durango, CO
• A Randomized Controlled Trial of Digital Health-Driven Risk Factor Modification Following PCI
  Connie Chan, BA
  UC Davis Health | Sacramento, CA

Clinical Topics: Cardiac Surgery, Cardiovascular Care Team, Heart Failure and Cardiomyopathies, Invasive Cardiovascular Angiography and Intervention, Aortic Surgery, Cardiac Surgery and Heart Failure, Acute Heart Failure

Keywords: Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement, Social Determinants of Health, Referral and Consultation, Heart Failure, Percutaneous Coronary Intervention, Quality Improvement, Patient Selection, LAAO Registry, CathPCI Registry, Quality Summit, Atrial Appendage, ACC Accreditation, Digital Technology