As 2011 comes to a close we can look back with pride on all of the accomplishments in the field of cardiovascular medicine over the year. Whether it was all of the great science presented at ACC’s scientific session in New Orleans; development of new and/or updated guidelines reflecting how to best use new treatments or drugs; participating in the United Nations Summit on Non-Communicable Diseases; or partnering with public and private entities on the Million Hearts Initiative – we have made great strides. Our field can be a challenging one at times, but the end results are well worth the battle.

One of the accomplishments I am most proud of, however, is our work related to transcatheter valve therapy (TVT). Early 2011 brought us the PARTNER Cohort A trial, which looked at this transformational procedure that had been used in 40 other countries outside the U.S. until this year. Soon after, The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) and ACC together developed a high-level societal overview on TVT to ensure safe introduction of the therapy into the U.S.  Michael Mack, MD, president of STS, and I testified at a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) committee hearing about the importance of a team-based approach when implementing this procedure.

In the past few months, not only has the FDA approved this new technology, which has the promise and potential to significantly affect the management of patients with severe aortic stenosis, but the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has opened up a National Coverage Determination analysis at our request. We are ending this year with the official launch of the STS/ACC TVT Registry^TM, which will track patient safety and real-world outcomes related to the newly introduced transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedure. The Registry is a great example of teamwork between professional societies as we worked closely with STS, the FDA and CMS, with input from The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Intervention (SCAI) and The American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS). We are continuing to work closely with these stakeholders on the development of future clinical documents and educational programming to ensure appropriate use of this new therapy. It is our hope that our efforts now will serve as the model when new devices or therapies are developed in the future.

We’ve had quite an exciting year, and as we head into 2012, I am excited for what this next year will bring!

What do you think were some of the great innovations of 2011?

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