This post was authored by Jennifer Michaud Finch, DO, cardiology fellow in the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at Lahey Clinic Medical Center in Burlington, MA, and a member of the ACC Sports and Exercise Cardiology Section.

I have the distinct pleasure of reviewing the Sports and Exercise Cardiology lecture series for ACC.14. As a fellow in training (FIT), I was very excited to attend these lectures. I come from a city where our sports teams are respected, valued and we are fiercely supportive – no matter what (remember Boston waiting 86 years to win a World Series?)  My ACC.14 badge was my ticket to "The Main Event," my pass to see the great minds of sports and exercise cardiology in one venue. I eagerly awaited the start of the sports and exercise cardiology lecture series like a die-hard fan who has waited all year to see their favorite team play in the championship! 

We kicked off the sports and exercise cardiology lectures on Saturday with Eugene Chung, MD, FACC, and Alfred Bove, MD, PhD, MACC, co-chairing the core competencies in sports and exercise cardiology. Aaron Baggish, MD, FACC, from Boston opened with an overview of exercise physiology and the cardiac adaptations to different types of exercise. Next our own founder of the Sports and Exercise Cardiology Section, Christine Lawless, MD, FACC, described the noninvasive evaluation of the athlete. This lecture was expanded upon by Matthew Martinez, MD, FACC, who elegantly displayed advanced cardiac imaging modalities for the athlete. Richard Kovacs, MD, FACC, another founding member of the Sports and Exercise Cardiology Section reviewed the current state of guidelines and the direction in which they are evolving. Mark Haigney, MD, ended the session discussing the ramifications and unknowns surrounding supplement use in the athlete.

Our next session included case studies hosted by Michael Emery, MD, FACC, incoming co-chair of the Sports and Exercise Cardiology Leadership Council and Dr. Lawless. These case studies described athletes who had symptoms during exertion and highlighted the difficulties in diagnosis, treatment and return to play.

Sunday continued with exciting lectures and novel research presentations. This is a very unique opportunity, especially for FITs, to present their novel research. Renée Sullivan, MD, FACC, and Reginald Washington, MD, FACC  hosted “Sports and Exercise Cardiology: Exploring New Territory.” Once again the authoritative voice of Paul Thompson, MD, FACC, who literally wrote the book of sports cardiology, reviewed the year 2013 and the advances and challenges that took place in sports and exercise cardiology. This was followed by six case studies. These case studies came from all over the world, describing novel research that included cardiac remodeling with endurance exercise, electrical and morphologic changes of cardiac chambers and their representative ECG changes with exercise, the effect of statins and exercise. Dr. Lawless described a thoughtful question of the relationship of prodromal symptoms in relation to sudden cardiac death. Antonio Pelliccia, MD, described blood pressure correlates in athletes.

It was very exciting to hear from a broad spectrum of researchers that include electrophysiologists, interventional cardiologist, noninvasive, imaging cardiologists and general practitioners. Once again, I sat in the audience, amazed at the opportunity to be able to see the giants of sports and exercise cardiology share their knowledge.

The second session of the day brought forth very interesting, complex cases of athletes with valvular heart disease. This was hosted by Robert Battle, MD, FACC, and Blase Carabello, MD, FACC. Each case was presented followed by lively debate and conversation on treatment options and return to play. As I sat in the audience, I felt as if I were watching a tennis match, my head turning from one side of the room to the other side and back again listening to fantastic debate.

The evening concluded with exercise in the elderly population, this reinforces the reality that the athletics extend throughout the life cycle.

The final day of lectures culminated in a very well attended lecture regarding cardiac screening in athletes and youth.  This was co-chaired by Sami Viskin, MD and Rachel Lampert, MD, FACC. Jonathan Kaltman, MD, from the National Institutes of Health described a prospective registry of all sudden cardiac deaths in the U.S. that will give us a wealth of information to dissect and learn from.  The debate continued with the introduction of pros and cons of localized ECG screening programs. Silvana Lawrence, MD, PhD, FACC, incoming co-chair of the Sports and Exercise Cardiology Leadership Council presented one view and discussed her work with a free cardiac screening program in Texas. Mark Link, MD, FACC, from Boston presented the counter view of local ECG screening programs, that they were not ready for prime time. Finally, we had the pleasure of listening to Dr. Pelliccia from Italy regarding the national screening program that has been in place in Italy for the last several decades.

I ended my trip to ACC.14 in Washington, DC with a visit to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. This reminded me to be respectful of the unknown.  This is an important concept as we continue to navigate the etiologies and delineate the risk of sudden cardiac death in athletes.

This post is part of a series of posts from the ACC’s Sports and Exercise Cardiology Section. For more information about the Section, click here.  

< Back to Listings