Heart Rhythm Daily - Day 1, 2008 - (Page 10)

M AY 1 4 – 1 5 , 2 0 0 8 10 WE D N E S DAY / T H U R S DAY A F SUM M I T U PDAT E Sessions examine latest in atrial ﬁbrillation management Though initially envisioned as a one-time event, the AF Summit at Heart Rhythm 2007 proved to the Heart Rhythm Society that its decision to take a more proactive approach to addressing atrial ﬁbrillation was sound. The inaugural summit sold out and shattered expectations with 1,200 attending. With clear indications from the profession that such an event is needed, the Society has planned an AF Summit Update, which will take place Thursday. “What we’ve realized is that this is not just a one-time deal. Atrial ﬁbrillation remains incredibly important,” said Hugh Calkins, MD, FHRS, chair of the Heart Rhythm Society’s scientiﬁc and clinical guidelines committee. He said this summit is a continuation of the work that was started last year in terms of making sure that Society members are up to date on the latest in AF ablation and the techniques, results, and outcomes. The AF Summit Update, which is supported by a grant from St. Jude Medical, will feature three 90-minute sessions with multiple talks as well as an abstract session — a new addition. “The AF Summit Update will feature six of the highest scoring abstracts in the atrial ﬁbrillation area, and they’ll be presented by young investigators,” said Douglas L. Packer, MD, FHRS, Abstract Chair of the Scientiﬁc Program Committee. “These presentations will be made in front of an audience of seasoned veterans, so this will be a very interesting session.” Dr. Packer said that like the didactic portion of the program, the abstract presentations would be forward-looking. “It’s intended to provide not just an update on yesterday’s news, but on what we anticipate to be of greatest importance in the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of atrial ﬁbrillation in the next six to 12 months,” he said. Dr. Calkins agreed and said some of the new topics attendees could expect to see include the increasing importance of catheter ablation of persistent and long-standing persistent atrial ﬁbrillation and the role of techniques other than (or in addition to) pulmonary vein isolation for achieving optimal results. “I think catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation began mainly in patients with paroxysmal AF, and more and more we’re shifting to target patients with paroxysmal AF but also to improve outcomes in patients with persistent and long-standing persistent atrial ﬁbrillation,” Calkins said. To ensure heart rhythm specialists stay up to date on such new information, the summit, which is part of the all-encompassing AF 360° initiative, will now be a fixed feature of the Annual Scientific Sessions. “The Heart Rhythm Society has a commitment to our members that we want to keep them apprised of new developments in the areas where there is movement and new data available — such as catheter ablation of atrial ﬁbrillation — so this is a long-standing commitment,” Dr. Calkins said. “Each year attendees can return to make sure their approaches are state of the art and get the most recent information that may not even be available yet in medical journals.” Calkins said the summit is 100 percent focused on patient care and optimizing outcomes. “We want to provide practitioners with a way to be conﬁdent that their techniques reﬂect the latest understanding worldwide of atrial ﬁbrillation,” he said. “The thought leaders in AF ablation are participating in this summit. For those that participated last year, come back because you will get updated. For those that missed it, you will get the latest techniques and tools for AF ablation.” AF SUMMIT U PDAT E Three 90-minute sessions and one abstract session will serve as an update to last year’s sold out AF Summit, which is part of the AF 360° Initiative. THURSDAY, MAY 15 8:00 - 9:30 a.m. AF Mechanisms and Mechanism Based Therapy 10:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. AF Ablation: Clinical Outcomes 4:30-6:00 p.m. New Generation Imaging for Ablative Interventions http://www.hrsonline.org http://www.hrsonline.org

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Contents Opening Plenary Hands-on Session AF Summit Update

Heart Rhythm Daily - Day 1, 2008

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