According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), every 60 seconds a loved one dies from a heart attack in the U.S. Every 26 seconds, an American will suffer a heart attack. If the patient survives, more than half will suffer a recurrent attack leading to death or disability. So why are there no established national protocols to challenge the effects of a STEMI (ST-elevation myocardial infarction) event, a heart attack caused by complete obstruction of a coronary artery?
Leading STEMI expert Dr. Sameer Mehta and many of his colleagues argue it is a matter of national public health policy and that the U.S. lags behind some of its international counterparts in establishing STEMI protocols to effectively treat acute patients in ways that parallel our current national trauma system. Currently, there are more than 270 certified trauma centers in the U.S. offering Level I – Level IV care, each set up to meet the critical care needs of a trauma patient with specialists, equipment and a required number of surgeons and anesthesiologists on call 24 hours a day. By contrast, only a handful of certified STEMI Receiving Centers exist in the U.S. Unlike trauma care, there are no established national codes or procedures to effectively treat Americans fighting to survive a heart attack — the number one killer of men and women in the U.S.
“Time is of the essence. As the time that heart muscle is deprived of oxygenated blood increases, the likelihood the patient will die or be severely debilitated also increases,” says Dr. Sameer Mehta, LUMEN 2009 Program Director and author of the Textbook of STEMI Interventions. Dr. Mehta advocates angioplasty for STEMI patients instead of thrombolytic therapy (drugs) whenever possible.
In an effort to focus more resources on establishing a national initiative for creating/certifying STEMI Receiving Centers within hospitals, the North American Center for Continuing Medical Education (NACCME, LLC) will bring together the world’s top minds in the field of cardiology for LUMEN 2009: The Symposium on Optimal Treatments for Acute MI.
The meeting will take place February 26-28, 2009 at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida and coincide with American Heart Month. The Presidential Address will be given by the President of the American College of Cardiology, Dr. W. Douglas Weaver. Dr. Weaver is the Division Head of Cardiovascular Medicine, the Darin Chair of Cardiology, Director of the Henry Ford Cardiovascular Institute at the Henry Ford Health System and Professor of Medicine at Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan. He has been an outspoken advocate for healthcare reform in the U.S.
In addition to Dr. Weaver, LUMEN 2009 will include keynotes by international experts in the field of interventional cardiology — Dr. William W. O’Neill and Dr. Martin B. Leon.
Dr. O’Neill is the Professor and Executive Dean for Clinical Affairs, Division of Cardiology at the Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami, Miami, Florida. Dr. O’Neill is recognized as a pioneer in balloon angioplasty and related techniques, having made fundamental contributions to the development of these procedures and their applications in patients with coronary artery disease and valvular heart disease.
Dr. Martin B. Leon is Founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation and Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC), New York City, New York. Dr. Leon has served as principal investigator for numerous clinical trials that have helped shape the field of interventional vascular medicine and has had a major impact on the development of modern interventional vascular devices and therapies.
“For LUMEN 2009, I have sought the knowledge of world experts to create a robust CME program — four luminary co-directors, each a respective giant in interventional cardiology, door-to-balloon time processes, emergency medicine, and cardiovascular nursing,” adds Mehta.
Other programs will include the STEMI Processes Symposium, a session of the world’s top five STEMI programs presented by their directors — the first time at a single meeting. In addition, LUMEN 2009 has more than 12 innovative and pragmatic workshops where attendees can master techniques to achieve low door-to-balloon times (a measure of the time to treatment) for STEMI interventions. Finally, there will be two great debates on the two most critical questions in STEMI interventions — which type of stent to use and whether primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) should be done only at tertiary centers.
LUMEN 2009: The Symposium on Optimal Treatments for Acute MI is an integrated STEMI educational rendezvous for paramedics, emergency department staff, critical care nurses, cardiovascular laboratory technologists and nurses, internists, general practitioners, hospitalists, intensivists, clinical and interventional cardiologists, cardiac and vascular surgeons, and hospital administrators. To learn more, visit www.LUMENami.com.
HMP Communications, LLC, a sister company to NACCME, LLC, has been contracted to manage logistics for the event, including audience generation and the acquisition and management of all corporate sponsorships and exhibits.
For information about attending LUMEN 2009: The Symposium on Optimal Treatments for Acute MI, February 26-28, 2009, please visit www.LUMENami.com or call Sheila Donato 800-237-7285 ext. 233 to request a brochure.
For information on sponsorship and exhibit opportunities, please contact HMP Communications, LLC directly at 800-237-7285 and ask for Jeff Martin.
NACCME, LLC is a leading accredited medical education and communications company. CME/CE activities sponsored by NACCME, LLC reach medical professionals in many different formats. Through meetings, publications, and web-based programming, thousands of healthcare practitioners participate in NACCME, LLC activities, expanding their clinical knowledge and competence by examining current medical issues, trends, therapies, and technologies. CME/CE activities sponsored by NACCME, LLC are produced to strengthen practitioner awareness of evidence-based patient care advances in a broad range of therapeutic areas. NACCME, LLC sponsors CME/CE activities for physicians, pharmacists, podiatrists, nurses, physician assistants, and other allied healthcare professionals. NACCME, LLC is committed to improving healthcare practitioner knowledge, competence, and performance, ultimately to improve patient care.
HMP Communications, LLC has spent the past 2 decades focusing on advances in the clinical care and treatment in some of the world’s most debilitating diseases and medical conditions. Today, healthcare professionals consider HMP Communications, LLC medical journals, websites, meetings and symposia as authoritative sources for comprehensive information in the fields of wound care, dermatology, podiatry, cardiovascular care, electrophysiology, long term care, managed care, diabetes, arthritis, and specialized primary care. HMP Communications, LLC journals are both peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed to best disseminate educational content in the most effective manner for readers. In addition to online and print media, the company produces and manages tradeshows, conferences, symposia, digital programs and customized programs.
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