Registration is now open for the ACC’s Virtual Legislative Conference from Oct. 3-5. To register, click here and fill out the online registration form. For questions about the conference, email advocacyleg@acc.org or call (800) 435-9203. Stay tuned to @Cardiology on Twitter and use the #ACCLegConf for updates and to engage in discussions before during and after the event.

If Gwen Goldfarb, our chapter executive, or I can be of assistance to you, please let us know.

Sincerely,

I am pleased to share with you some of the activities that the cardiovascular care team has done this year:

We look forward to hosting one additional virtual event this year. Please let us know if there is anything that you are interested in for future topics!

On August 28, the Ohio-ACC held its 2nd Annual Fellow in Training Virtual Bootcamp designed for first-year fellows and future cardiology applicants, which was led by Dr. Saima Karim and Dr. Meera Kondapaneni.

It was a robust event filled with workshops, lectures, and panel discussions. Special thanks to the faculty:

Muhammad Afzal, MD, OSUMC

Rajesh Gupta, MD, FACC, University of Toledo

Jagadish Khanagavi, MD, FACC, University of Cincinnati

Ran Lee, MD, FACC, Cleveland Clinic

Srinivas Rajeshkar, MD, University of Cincinnati

Ellen Sabik, MD, FACC, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center

Aisha Siraj, MD, FACC, MetroHealth-CWRU

Timothy Smith, MD, FACC, Christ Hospital

Antonio Stolongo-Fernandez, MD, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center

Kara Denby, MD, Cleveland Clinic

Richard Hajjar, MD, University of Cincinnati

Evan Harmon, MD, Cleveland Clinic

Alissa Kaufmann, MD, OSUMC

Alexandria Miller, MD, OSUMC

Farhan Nasser, MD, MetroHealth

Erica Pivato, MD, University of Cincinnati

Nicole Pristera, MD, Cleveland Clinic

Blair Suter, MD, University of Cincinnati

Adnan Yousaf, MD, MetroHealth

If you missed out, you can see all of the videos here.

This year, FITs, residents, and CV team members have the opportunity to be part of the ePoster Competition held in conjunction with the Ohio-ACC Virtual Annual Meeting.

Abstracts accepted for presentation at the Ohio-ACC Virtual Annual Meeting will be available On Demand through the ePoster Portal. With this exciting format, participants will showcase their posters along with MP4 voice-over PowerPoint presentations of their submissions. Stay tuned!

Finally, congratulations to Ohio’s fellows in training (FITs), who recently graduated and are entering practice. We have put together tools to support your transition to the ultimate level of cardiovascular recognition, Fellowship of the ACC (FACC). Get the details on the FIT to FACC pathway.

Have you had a chance to look at the Ohio-ACC Women in Cardiology Shine the Spotlight Campaign! This initiative showcases Ohio-ACC female cardiologists to offer networking, mentoring, and research and clinical opportunities. We hope that this campaign will also highlight a cardiology career to our talent pipeline.

To be a part of the Ohio-ACC WIC Shine the Spotlight Campaign, please submit your professional photo (i.e. official faculty or fellow portrait or similar quality) and statement response(s). Brief, bold statements will be most effective. SUBMIT YOUR INFORMATION.

Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is an inherited disease affecting 1 in 250 Americans (probable or definite based on Dutch Lipid Clinic Network score; de Ferranti 2016). Though the genetic and phenotypic presentation can be highly variable, the most severe forms of FH are seen in patients with homozygous (HoFH) or compound heterozygous (HeFH) disease, which are estimated to impact 1 in every 300,000 patients. These patients often require additional LDL-C lowering beyond what can be achieved with standard therapies like statins, ezetimibe, and PCSK9 inhibitors. Historically, this has included medications like mipomersen or lomitapide, or the regular use of LDL apheresis. In spring of 2021, a new medication was approved for use in these populations called evinacumab (Evkeeza) based on results from the ELIPSE-HoFH trial (Raal 2020).

Evinacumab is a monoclonal antibody administered by IV infusion over 60 minutes every 4 weeks. It is an angiopoietin-like 3 (ANGPTL-3) inhibitor that acts in the liver to inhibit lipoprotein lipase and endothelial lipase to subsequently decrease LDL-C. In the ELIPSE-HoFH study, use of evinacumab at 15mg/kg resulted in a 47.1% reduction in LDL-C from baseline compared to placebo. The effects were seen as early as two weeks after the first infusion and consistent lowering was maintained throughout the 24-week study period. Similar lowering was seen regardless of background lipid therapy, apheresis, and genetic mutations.

The medication is not recommended for use during pregnancy, and pregnancy should be avoided for at least five months following the last infusion due to prolonged and variable drug elimination, averaging 19 weeks after the last dose. It is degraded by proteolytic and enzymatic pathways and is not expected to alter renal or hepatic function. Fortunately, it is also not known to have significant drug interactions. The most common side effects seen in the study were infusion reactions, upper respiratory tract infections / nasopharyngitis, constipation, and a reduction in HDL-C.

Given the high ASCVD risk and limited treatment options available, evinacumab appears to be a reasonable option for patients with genetic or phenotypic HoFH. Additional studies are also underway studying the use of evinacumab for hypertriglyceridemia.

Matching Gift Opportunity: Double Your Impact on COVID-19 Relief Efforts 

ACC’s Americares Campaign to help front-line COVID-19 relief efforts around the world just got an additional boost thanks to a generous matching gift of up to $25,000 from the J.F Maddox Foundation, as designated by ACC Board of Trustees Member Thomas M. Maddox, MD, FACC. The ACC launched its Americares Campaign with a $25,000 seed gift earlier this year. Since then, more than $30,000 has been raised towards Americares’ Resilience and India funds, both of which provide direct support in the form of medicine and supplies to health care providers on the front lines battling COVID-19. With numbers once again on the rise in the U.S. and around the world, this matching gift opportunity comes at a vital time. Tax-deductible contributions can be made here and will be matched up to $25,000 between now and Oct. 1. Learn more and helps us reach our next $50,000 COVID-19 relief goal by Oct. 1 at Americares.org/ACC. 

The ACC has launched a new CardiaCast podcast series on nutrition, with new episodes dropping weekly. Listen to the free CardioNutrition series with host, Robert J. Ostfeld, MD, MSc, FACC, along with leaders in the field, who will discuss the nutrition recommendations in the ACC/AHA guidelines, dietary patterns such as a Mediterranean, plant-based, or Ketogenic diet, practical ways to weave nutrition recommendations into clinical practice, how to get reimbursed for nutrition counseling and drive behavior change, and more. Don’t miss the first five episodes: CardioNutrition - Why are we here?; What Do the ACC Dietary Guidelines Actually Say?; The Skinny on Fats - and Omega 3s!; Carbs, Fiber, and Grains, Oh My!; and Dude, Where’s my Protein?

Digital health is increasingly becoming an important mechanism of chronic disease care, especially in cardiology. The ACC recently developed a Telehealth Workbook to provide guidance on conducting telehealth visits to effectively manage cardiovascular care, including what should happen prior to, during and post-visit. The workbook offers specific recommendations on the management of heart failure, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, and atrial fibrillation. Additionally, it also includes resources to existing CardioSmart tools, such as the Cardiac METs Fact Sheet and the Activity Log Worksheet that complement the telehealth visits. Download the workbook now at ACC.org/Telehealth.

MedAxiom’s ninth annual Cardiovascular Provider Compensation and Production Survey Report – which unveils trends across cardiology, surgery, advanced practice providers, and non-clinical compensation – reveals the true impact of the coronavirus pandemic on cardiovascular programs in 2020. In addition to highlighting comparisons between private and integrated models, the report features new panel size metrics for workforce planning. Use this essential strategic planning tool – designed by cardiology, for cardiology – to optimize your organization and transform cardiovascular care in 2022 and beyond. DOWNLOAD REPORT

For those of you looking for an alternative to the traditional 10-year board certification exam, please consider the ACC’s new product, the Collaborative Maintenance Pathway (CMP). The CMP is about learning and refreshing your knowledge on a yearly basis. It's delivered through ACC's SAPs, so it includes comprehensive educational material and annual updates. You'll get text and presentations created by experts, plus hundreds of self-assessment questions. Learn in whatever format suits your needs – reading, watching, and/or listening. Find out more here.