Intensive Explores the Complex Field of Critical Care
Patients with heart disease that require critical care necessitate a much different kind of therapy, one of clock-ticking immediacy and assuredness. Such emergency conditions can range from a patient with cardiogenic shock requiring mechanical circulatory support in order to prevent immediate cardiovascular collapse, to a patient enduring cardiac arrest, in whom timely action is needed to give them the best chance of returning to normal brain function.
Providing comprehensive perspectives into this demanding field of cardiology, ACC.15 will host an intensive session on critical care today from 12:15 to 6 p.m. in Room 7B. "Critical care cardiology is a fast-paced, technology-intensive, and resource-intensive field in which the patients and their disease complications are highly complex," says David Morrow, MD, MPH, FACC, critical care intensive co-chair. "Evidence for clinical interventions is often sparse or conflicting. As a result many therapeutic approaches in critical care cardiology remain uncertain or controversial."
Guiding attendees through this difficult landscape of treatment, the specialized intensive will share details on the latest technological innovations and research data, as well as practical tips from nationally recognized experts. Focusing on the challenging clinical decision-making and controversies in critical care cardiology, the session will feature dialogues on when and how to implement targeted temperature management for comatose survivors of cardiac arrest, how to choose among options for percutaneously placed mechanical circulatory support, and manage submassive pulmonary embolisms. Attendees will also be provided with a forward-looking glimpse at critical care cardiology’s potential future, with a discussion on how cardiologists as a group of professionals should prepare and adapt to changes in the population and difficult diseases.
Developed around a unique blend of interactive learning formats, including clinical debates with live polling and multidisciplinary discussion panels, fellows in training will be on hand to contribute their unique perspective on presented topics. "It is a tremendous opportunity for those engaged in this emerging area to connect and advance their knowledge and skills through collaborative discussion with leaders and colleagues," says Morrow. "The program will emphasize the complex multidisciplinary care necessary to provide optimal care in the cardiac intensive care unit, and thus the session will be of interest to general cardiologists, critical care specialists, cardiology trainees, nurses, physician assistance, and pharmacists who care for patients in a cardiac intensive care unit. Our aim is for participants to walk away with a deeper knowledge of the evidence behind standards of care in this setting, improved competency, in systems-based practice, and new connections to colleagues in this field."
Keywords: Brain, Coma, Critical Care, Heart Arrest, Intensive Care, Intensive Care Units, ACC Annual Scientific Session, Inventions, Pharmacists, Pulmonary Embolism, Shock, Cardiogenic, Specialization, Survivors, Temperature
< Back to Listings