Lp(a), LDL management, health system quality metrics and more in spotlight at NLA 2024
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Key takeaways:
- The National Lipid Association Scientific Sessions will be held May 30-June 2 in Las Vegas.
- Lipoprotein(a) and “cardio-rheumatology” are expected to be among the hot topics from the 4-day meeting.
The National Lipid Association Scientific Sessions will be held Thursday to Sunday and will spotlight emerging areas of research such as “cardio-rheumatology,” a renewed push to reinstate LDL as a health system quality metric and more.
Christie M. Ballantyne, MD, FACC, FACP, FAHA, FNLA, chief of the section of cardiovascular research and professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and president-elect of the National Lipid Association (NLA), spoke with Healio about what attendees can look forward to at this year’s meeting in Las Vegas.
The opening session, “Exploring Divergent Perspectives on Lp(a) and LDL-C Management,” is scheduled to take place Thursday at 4 p.m. PST and will feature presentations including clinical counterpoint cases presented by Payal Kohli, MD, FACC, Ballantyne and Alan S. Brown, MD, FACC, FAHA, FASPC, MNLA.
“In terms of an opening session, a big area right now is Lp(a). We don’t have drugs yet, so what do we do with it? We measure it. We know it’s important,” Ballantyne told Healio.
On Friday at 9:10 a.m. PST, Ballantyne, Robert A. Hegele, MD, FRCPC, Daniel J. Rader, MD, FNLA, and Daniel E. Soffer, MD, FNLA, will host, “Session I — Genetic Basis of Lipid/Lipoprotein Disorders and Cardiovascular Risk: An Expert Panel Discussion.”
“We’ll have a session on Friday morning talking about genetics, what we’ve learned from all the studies and application to our clinical practice right,” Ballantyne said.
On Friday at 10:15 a.m. PST, “Session II — Publications from the NLA” will include:
- “Role of Apolipoprotein B in Clinical Management” — presented by Soffer;
- “A Focused Update to the 2019 NLA Scientific Statement on the Use of Lipoprotein(a) in Clinical Practice” — presented by Ballantyne; and
- “Obesity, Dyslipidemia, and Cardiovascular Disease Risk: A Joint Expert Review from the Obesity Medicine Association and the National Lipid Association 2024” — presented by Harold Bays, MD, FNLA.
“We have scientific statements including one that we put out this year which is a focused update on the use of lipoprotein(a) in clinical practice. We were the first organization in the United States to recommend that they should be measured in all adults,” Ballantyne told Healio. “A manuscript about the role of ApoB will be discussed ... and also joint expert review on obesity, dyslipidemia and CV risk.
“Another area that’s coming up is the whole area of inflammation — ‘cardio-rheumatology,’” Ballantyne said. “What do we do for people with inflammatory disorders? What about colchicine?”
To be presented Friday at 12:05 p.m. PST is “Session III — Cardiorheumatology,” and will feature presentations including:
- “Fundamentals of Inflammation and Cardiovascular Implications” — presented by Michael S. Garshick, MD, MS;
- “Basic and Clinical Science Connecting Psoriasis and Cardiovascular/Cardiometabolic Outcomes” — presented by Joel Gelfand, MD; and
- “Is Colchicine for ASCVD? Inflammatory Disease?” — presented by Vijay Nambi, MD, PhD, FNLA.
“Following that is women’s CV challenges,” Ballantyne said. “Some things that have not been talked about as much is this issue of CV issues with pregnancy. We have more women getting pregnant later in life, and there’s more complicated CV. We have more diabetes and obesity. We have some severe triglyceride problems and there’s always the issue about menopause. ... One of the things that comes up is statins reproductive potential and there’ll be a discussion about that.
“Session IV — Woman’s Cardiovascular Challenges,” will be held Friday at 3 p.m. PST, and will include the following presentations:
- “Cardiovascular Concerns in Pregnancy” — presented by Jennifer Lewey, MD, MPH;
- “PCOS in Adolescents: A Pediatrician’s Challenge” — presented by Silva Arslanian, MD;
- “Menopause and the Heart: What a Clinician Needs to Know” — presented by Chrisandra Shufelt, MD, MS, FACP, MSCP; and
- “Dyslipidemia Management in Women of Reproductive Potential: A Clinical Perspective from the National Lipid Association” — presented by Anandita Agarwala Kulkarni, MD.
On Saturday at 9:10 a.m. PST Ballantyne will deliver the NLA incoming president’s address.
“One of my goals is of the issue of getting LDL cholesterol back as a quality metric. We’ve been working on this for the last several years, and I hope this is the year,” he said. “It’s important that we do some things from the perspective of quality metrics.”
Saturday will also feature the W. Virgil Brown Distinguished Achievement Lecture, presented by Hegele, as well as oral poster presentations and late breakers.
“We’ll also have a joint session with the European Atherosclerosis Association talking about disaggregating the lipid panel and why we look at all the different results,” Ballantyne said.
The joint session, “Session VI — From a to B, then Back to LDL: Transatlantic Views on the Lipoproteins that Cause Plaque” will take place Saturday at 2 p.m. PST and, at 3:35 p.m. PST, will be followed by “Session VII — Make It Happen ...”
“We’ll go into some discussions in terms of how we do things in the community,” Ballantyne said. “For example, hypertension management in the community, obesity prevention. ... What are the things that we can do to make sure that these things get implemented well. Then, we’ll put some of that together the next morning in terms of the community, individual and the health care system for following up on that.”
On Sunday, after a 7 a.m. PST Zumba class hosted by Ballantyne, will be “Session VIII — Putting it Together in the Clinic for the Community and the Individual,” and will include the following presentations:
- “Treating the Health System” — presented by Mary Katherine Cheeley, PharmD, FNLA;
- “The Adolescent with Moderate-Severe Hypertriglyceridemia and Insulin Resistance” — presented by Ann Liebeskind, MD, FNLA;
- “Differing Treatment Approaches in Underserved Communities – The Contrast of West Philadelphia to Rural New Mexico” — presented by Lauren A. Eberly, MD, MPH; and
- “Consultative Cases in Clinical Lipidology” — presented by James A. Underberg, MD, MS, MNLA.
“In addition to the scheduled presentations, when you have these somewhat smaller meetings, there’s always a chance to actually discuss cases, talk to faculty, and exchange ideas or, you know, observations that come up in your practice,” Ballantyne told Healio. “A lot of the interactive aspects of the program are some of the most informative.”
Healio is a media partner of the NLA Scientific Sessions. The Healio team will provide coverage from the meeting, including reports on the sessions above and more. Follow along at this link and on X (formerly Twitter) at @CardiologyToday. For more information on NLA, visit www.lipid.org/meetings/sessions/home.
Reference:
- 2024 Scientific Sessions Agenda. https://www.lipid.org/meetings/sessions/agenda. Accessed May 23, 2024.
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