CMHC tackles current, future themes in cardiometabolic medicine

The 13th annual Cardiometabolic Health Congress, beginning Wednesday in Boston, will feature educational sessions, workshops and discussions aimed at an audience of medical professionals who manage cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity.

The 4-day event, according to organizers, will draw between 900 and 1,400 attendees, including cardiologists, endocrinologists, nurse practitioners, dietitians and primary care physicians.

“This is a forum where cutting-edge and applicable medicine related to cardiometabolic disease is featured,” program co-chairman Robert H. Eckel, MD, of the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, told Endocrine Today. “The audience is expecting to leave with some take-home messages that are relevant to their day-to-day practice.”

New to the Cardiometabolic Health Congress (CMHC) this year is Wednesday’s Women’s Health Summit, which will feature several sessions focused entirely on cardiometabolic health in women. Andrea E. Dunaif, MD, of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, will speak on polycystic ovary syndrome and cardiometabolic risk, and Nieca Goldberg, MD, of NYU Langone Medical Center, will discuss contraception for women with cardiometabolic risk. Other topics will include postmenopausal hormone therapy, cardio-oncology and cardiometabolic risk during pregnancy,

Additionally, smaller group workshops, held throughout the meeting, will feature limited seating for audience members to take more in-depth looks at meeting topics with presenters. Anne L. Peters, MD, of the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, will lead a workshop on insulin biosimilars Thursday morning.

“That is something new and we’re going to see how that works this year,” Eckel said.

As for the more traditional offerings, Thursday’s section of the event will focus on diabetes management. Highlights include a keynote address from C. Ronald Kahn, MD, of Harvard Medical School, a session with Peters discussing the status of devices for diabetes management and a discussion from John B. Buse, MD, PhD, of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, on the necessity of GLP-1 receptor agonists. Thursday will also feature an update on late-breaking clinical trials and FDA approvals, including presentations from Eckel, Deepak L. Bhatt, MD, MPH, of Brigham and Women's Hospital Heart and Vascular Center, Keith C. Ferdinand, MD, FACC, FAHA, of Tulane University School of Medicine, Christie Ballantyne, MD, of Baylor College of Medicine, and Jay Skyler, MD, of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

Friday will be split into two half-day sessions, including discussions about obesity and lifestyle management, as well as dyslipidemia, atherosclerosis and reducing CVD risk. During the early sessions, Stephen Devries, MD, FACC, of the Gaples Institute for Integrative Cardiology, will give a presentation on interventional cardiology, and James O. Hill, PhD, of the University of Colorado School of Medicine, is scheduled to give a keynote address on environmental influences of obesity. The second half of the day will feature talks with multiple panelists on pathophysiology, sleep disorders and lowering LDL cholesterol.

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The final day of the congress will put emphasis on hypertension, cardio-renal and heart failure topics. George L. Bakris, MD, of University of Chicago Medicine, will provide an overview of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association 2017 hypertension clinical practice guidelines, whereas Ferdinand will join Aldo J. Peixoto, MD, of Yale School of Medicine, and Michael A. Weber, MD, of SUNY Downstate College of Medicine, to discuss hypertension patient cases. Jorge Plutzky, MD, of Harvard Medical School, will give the last talk of the event, discussing the latest CV outcomes trials that show a benefit in patients with chronic kidney disease.

“Overall, the evaluations are outstanding, and the people go home with the idea that they’ve learned things they can apply to practice immediately,” Eckel said, noting that there will be other emerging themes more focused on the future of cardiometabolic medicine. “The cardiometabolic meeting represents an area where we need specialized training for people who can cross over between cardiology, diabetes and obesity.” – by Phil Neuffer

For more information:

Robert H. Eckel, MD, can be reached at robert.eckel@ucdenver.edu

Disclosure: Eckel is a co-chair of CMHC 2018.