Come to Cleveland in September for Unmatched Aortic Disease Education

Cleveland Clinic kicks off an ambitious schedule of live cardiovascular CME offerings this autumn with the latest installment of “Comprehensive, Lifelong, Expeditious (CLE) Care of Aortic Disease” at the InterContinental Cleveland on Cleveland Clinic’s main campus on Friday-Saturday, Sept. 22-23.

Since its launch a few years ago, this day-and-a-half course — one of the most in-depth live meetings on aortic disease available anywhere — has consistently pleased crowds by taking its name quite seriously. The 2023 installment proudly continues that tradition.

Comprehensive, lifelong, expeditious

First, it is highly comprehensive, addressing every aspect of aortic disease care, from the role of genetics in cases related to connective tissue disorders through management in the chronic phase of disease. Along the way, the large interdisciplinary faculty covers emergency management of suspected aortic dissection, creation of a cardio-aortic triage unit, imaging options to confirm the diagnosis, mobilizing an on-demand OR team, the multiple stages of treating both acute ascending and acute distal dissections, and chronic care of dissection survivors. Each management stage is covered through various subtopics addressing nuanced caregiving challenges.

Second, it emphasizes lifelong care, with abundant presentations devoted to advising patients and their families before a dissection occurs and helping them thrive following dissection. Examples of content on pre-dissection counseling include an overview of how clinical genetic care and family screening is done in Cleveland Clinic’s Aorta Clinic and guidance on how to slow progression in the genetically vulnerable patient. Examples of content on optimal post-dissection care include talks on lifelong imaging follow-up, advising patients about strenuous activity and determining the best antihypertensive regimen in the chronic phase of disease.

Third, the course dives deeply into expeditious management of acute dissection, with extensive multidisciplinary discussions of decision-making around surgical, endovascular and hybrid treatment. Distinct sessions are devoted to various stages in treatment of both ascending and distal dissection, and several point/counterpoint sessions explore treatment controversies. Discussions will touch on a broad array of acute management issues, from raising emergency department teams’ awareness of aortic disease, to optimal imaging modalities to confirm dissection diagnosis, to preparing the operating room for rapid induction and possible instability, to postoperative considerations in the ICU.

Points of distinction

The entire curriculum highlights the importance of multidisciplinary teams, with staff from Cleveland Clinic’s Aorta Center joined on the faculty by members of several other leading North American aorta centers. They number among the several dozen faculty for the course, featuring experts in cardiology, cardiac surgery, vascular surgery, cardiac anesthesiology, emergency medicine, cardiovascular pathology, genetics, pharmacy, diagnostic radiology and psychiatry, among other disciplines.

This multidisciplinary emphasis extends to the makeup of the team of course directors, which includes Eric Roselli, MD, Cardiac Surgery Director of Cleveland Clinic’s Aorta Center; Milind Desai, MD, MBA, Medical Director of the Aorta Center; Francis Caputo, MD, Vascular Surgery Director of the Aorta Center; and Venu Menon, MD, Section Head of Clinical Cardiology at Cleveland Clinic.

Case-based care is another focus, with a case study launching the panel discussion at the end of most sessions.

The event is also decidedly inclusive in its faculty and versatile in its programming. In addition to the guest faculty from various aorta centers across the continent, speakers include patient advocates, CardioNerds Conference Scholars and representatives of advocacy groups including the Marfan Foundation, the John Ritter Foundation and the Aortic Dissection Charitable Trust. Attendees can also vote in the course’s poster competition, check out a non-CME breakfast session on investigational devices, and extend their stay to Sunday, Sept. 24, to participate in the Marfan Foundation’s Walk for Victory in Cleveland.

For more information and to register, visit ccfcme.org/aorticdisease.

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