Heart in Diabetes conference focuses on intersection of cardiometabolic specialties

Yehuda Handelsman

Leading experts from a range of specialties will once again come together to address the relationship between type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular and renal disease and the latest research demonstrating their interconnectedness, according to an organizer of the second annual Heart in Diabetes conference.

The 3-day CME conference, described as where the heart, kidney and diabetes meet in clinical practice, will take place from July 13 to 15 at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel. The agenda includes sessions that span the subspecialties from cardiology, lipidology and endocrinology to nephrology, hepatology and primary care, with an emphasis on the latest guidelines and data from important CV outcomes trials.

“This is all clinical, but it is not your typical postgraduate meeting,” Yehuda Handelsman, MD, FACP, MACE, FNLA, medical director and principal investigator of the Metabolic Institute of America in Tarzana, California, and a co-chair of the Heart in Diabetes meeting, told Endocrine Today. “Here, we are developing the state-of-the-art clinical science. Here, we are trying to understand all the outcomes data and ask, ‘How will it apply to my patients?’ It’s analyzing the available data from a different perspective and saying, ‘How do we use it?’”

The meeting, which brings together cardiologists, endocrinologists, nephrologists, lipidologists, internists, family clinicians and other professionals, will feature discussions on lipid disorders, glucose abnormalities, acute coronary syndrome, congestive heart failure, atherosclerosis, vascular disease conditions and kidney disease — and how each of the conditions are related.

Conference highlights include the following:

the heart in diabetes with Circulation, featuring presentations focusing on top papers published in the journal, including on glucose-lowering therapies and congestive heart failure in type 2 diabetes (Darren McGuire, MD), secondary prevention of CVD in patients with type 2 diabetes (Ann Marie Navar, MD) and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: focus on diabetes (Sanjiv J. Shah, MD);

CV outcomes trials and their effect on clinical practice guidelines, including discussions on mitigating CV risk with antidiabetes and antilipid therapies (Sanjay Kaul, MD), American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists management recommendations for the high-risk CV patient with diabetes (Alan Garber, MD, PhD, MACE) and a debate on higher vs. lower blood pressure goals for diabetes with comorbid hypertension (George Bakris, MD, and Paul K. Whelton, MD);

the kidney in diabetes, featuring talks on the renal effects of antihyperglycemic agents (Mark E. Cooper, MD, PhD) and on predicting, preventing and managing chronic kidney disease and CVD progression in people with type 2 diabetes (Matthew R. Weir, MD);

vascular disease and thrombosis, including discussions on peripheral vascular disease in diabetes (Joshua Beckman, MD) and antithrombotic therapy in diabetes (Deepak L. Bhatt, MD); and

the effects of diabetes and dyslipidemia on CVD, including a debate on whether LDL cholesterol levels predict diabetes (Michael H. Davidson, MD, and Sergio Fazio, PhD), the development and prevention of atherosclerosis in diabetes (Jorge Plutzky, MD) and the role of dyslipidemia beyond LDL cholesterol in the development of CVD in diabetes (Michael Miller, MD).

The weekend will also include two product theaters, two CME symposia and the presentation of the “luminary in cardiometabolic medicine” award to Richard W. Nesto, MD.

“You have good people who are the leaders in their field who also understand the intersection of the specialties,” Handelsman said. “Not every renowned endocrinologist understands the heart and not every cardiologist understands diabetes. Here is where we come together and develop a new program.”

The Cardiology Today, Endocrine Today and Healio Family Medicine staffs will provide coverage from Heart in Diabetes 2018, including reports on the sessions, on-site video interviews and much more. For more information on the Heart in Diabetes conference and registration, visit www.heartindiabetes.com. – by Regina Schaffer

Disclosure: Handelsman is co-chair of the Heart in Diabetes conference.