CME Course on Lifelong Care of Adult CHD Comes to Chicago This Spring

Patients with adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) are a rapidly growing and frequently underserved population. To equip clinicians to better meet their needs, Cleveland Clinic is coming to Chicago in spring 2023 to offer a comprehensive 1.5-day CME course on the management of these patients.

“Comprehensive Care for the Lifetime Treatment of Adult Congenital Heart Disease: A Case-Based Approach” will be held March 31-April 1 at the InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile.

“Our goal is to update participants on clinical and research advances in the morphologies of congenital anomalies, the best diagnostic modalities and interventions, and the most appropriate management strategies for patients with ACHD,” says course co-director Tara Karamlou, MD, MSc, a pediatric and adult congenital heart surgeon at Cleveland Clinic. “We aim to detail the highly complex ecosystem of congenital heart care in adults and describe how that care may be shaped by new approaches in management and recent guidelines.”

30+ faculty over a day and a half

Over a full Friday and a Saturday morning, a faculty of more than 30 cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons and other clinicians with ACHD expertise from Cleveland Clinic and other top U.S. and international institutions will present practical, evidence-based updates on various aspects of ACHD care. After an opening session providing an overview of ACHD with patient perspectives, sessions will provide in-depth exploration of developments and innovations in the following:

• The pulmonary and tricuspid valves, including tetralogy of Fallot and Ebstein’s anomaly
• Single-ventricle physiology
• The failing systemic right ventricle and systemic left ventricle
• Innovations in ACHD clinical care and research
• Special topics in the arc of care for ACHD

Each session includes presentations from multiple subspecialty perspectives, including imaging, diagnostic, surgical, interventional and electrophysiological.

“Recent advances have been made in various aspects of ACHD care, such as assessing and treating patients with pulmonary valve dysfunction and managing systemic right ventricular congenital disorders in adults, especially transposition of the great arteries,” notes course co-director Hani Najm, MD, Chair of Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery at Cleveland Clinic.

“Moreover, as data mount on the management of adults who underwent Fontan surgery in infancy, the clinical care of these patients has improved,” adds Joanna Ghobrial, MD, MS, Medical and Interventional Director of Cleveland Clinic’s Adult Congenital Heart Disease Center. “However, not all clinicians are fully versed on these advances and insights, so we are focused on closing those knowledge gaps. We also will explore social and patient-perceived barriers that complicate the diagnosis and lifelong management of adult congenital heart disease.”

Notable course offerings

Notable aspects of the course include presentations devoted to ACHD and socioeconomic disparities, ACHD and women’s health, and ACHD and sports. Other highlights include an overview of groundbreaking research trials in ACHD, a patient panel with patient experience videos, and a keynote address by eminent congenital heart surgeon Vaughn Starnes, MD, who will also take part in a “fireside chat” with course co-director Lars Svensson, MD, PhD, Chair of Cleveland Clinic’s Miller Family Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute.

“Lifelong surveillance is paramount for adults with congenital heart disease,” says Dr. Svensson, “and recent advances in imaging, surgical repair and catheter interventions have improved outcomes for these patients. We want to make sure awareness and utilization of those advances is as broad as possible.”

Course and registration details are available at ccfcme.org/achd23.

This activity has been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™.