Dr. Nanette K. Wenger to Deliver 8th HJC Swan Memorial Lecture at Opening of International Academy of Cardiology, Annual Scientific Sessions 2014, 19th World Congress on Heart Disease

July 22, 2014

CIRINA CATANIA
The Catania Group

Beverly Hills, CA (PRWEB) (July 22, 2014) - Asher Kimchi, M.D., Founder and Chairman of the International Academy of Cardiology, today announced that Nanette K. Wenger, M.D., Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology at the Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, will deliver the eighth H.J.C. Swan Memorial Lecture at the Opening Ceremony of the International Academy of Cardiology, Annual Scientific Sessions 2014, 19th World Congress on Heart Disease, that will be held in Boston, MA, USA, from Friday, July 25 through Monday, July 28, 2014.

Dr. Wenger’s presentation, “Gender Disparity in Coronary Heart Disease: Bias, Biology, or Both?” will provide an overview of current understanding of this challenging clinical problem. Cardiovascular disease remains a major cause of mortality for women both in industrialized economies and in developing nations. A stunning improvement has occurred in cardiovascular disease mortality for U.S. women between 2000 and 2010, attributable both to application of evidence-based therapies of established cardiovascular disease and to preventive interventions; these likely derived from research studies of cardiovascular disease in women. Despite these salutatory findings, women remain underrepresented in clinical trials of cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular therapies resulting in substantial gender disparities in preventive interventions, diagnostic procedures, and application of guideline-based therapeutic strategies, with consequent adverse outcomes for women. Dr. Wenger’s presentation explores the potential contributions of gender differences in biologic characteristics and of gender bias in coronary heart disease: in the application of preventive interventions; and the management of stable ischemic heart disease, acute coronary syndromes, myocardial infarction, and myocardial revascularization procedures. Gender-specific basic and clinical cardiovascular research is needed to address these issues, with rigorous application required for the emerging knowledge. These approaches offer promise to improve cardiovascular outcomes for women and are the rationale for gender-based evaluation of pathophysiology, preventive interventions, clinical presentations, and medical and revascularization therapies.

Dr. Wenger is Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology at the Emory University School of Medicine. She is a Consultant to the Emory Heart and Vascular Center. Coronary heart disease in women is one of Dr. Wenger’s major clinical and research interests. She chaired the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Conference on Cardiovascular Health and Disease in Women. Dr. Wenger has expertise in cardiac rehabilitation. She chaired the World Health Organization Expert Committee on Rehabilitation after Cardiovascular Disease, and co-chaired the Guideline Panel on Cardiac Rehabilitation for the U.S. Agency for Health Care Policy and Research. Dr. Wenger has had a longstanding interest in geriatric cardiology, is a Past President of the Society of Geriatric Cardiology and was Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Geriatric Cardiology for more than 15 years.

Dr. Wenger has authored or coauthored over 1500 scientific and review articles and book chapters. She has received multiple awards for teaching and research that include, among others: Physician of the Year Award of the American Heart Association (1998), Distinguished Achievement Award from the Scientific Councils of the American Heart Association and its Women in Cardiology Mentoring Award (1999), James D. Bruce Memorial Award of the American College of Physicians for distinguished contributions in preventive medicine (2000), Distinguished Fellow Award of the Society of Geriatric Cardiology (2002), the Gold Heart Award, the highest award of the American Heart Association (2004). In 2011, Dr. Wenger was selected to deliver the James B. Herrick lecture by the American Heart Association for her outstanding achievement in clinical cardiology. In 2013, she received the Inaugural Distinguished Mentor Award of the American College of Cardiology. Dr. Wenger has participated as an author of several American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Clinical Practice Guidelines. She is past Chair, Board of Directors, Society for Women’s Health Research. Dr. Wenger serves on the editorial boards of numerous professional journals and is a sought after lecturer for issues related to heart disease in women, heart disease in the elderly, cardiac rehabilitation, coronary prevention, and contemporary cardiac care.

Dr. Asher Kimchi comments, “We are most fortunate to have Dr. Wenger with us at the 19th World Congress on Heart Disease. Her teachings and research are unparalleled and we are looking forward to her presentation on ‘Gender Disparity in Coronary Heart Disease: Bias, Biology, or Both?’"

Asher Kimchi, M.D., is the Clinical Chief of Cardiology and the Medical Director of the Preventive and Consultative Heart Center of Excellence at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, Los Angeles, California. He is also a Clinical Professor of Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California.

On Saturday, July 26, 2014, at 9:00 am, the Founder and Chairman of the International Academy of Cardiology, Dr. Asher Kimchi, will greet the Congress’ over six hundred attendees from fifty-three countries throughout the world at the official Opening Ceremony of the 19th World Congress on Heart Disease. The Opening Ceremony and Awards Presentations will be chaired by Dr. Jeffrey Borer, Brooklyn, NY, USA; Chief, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, SUNY, Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn NY; Chairman, Scientific Executive Committee and Chairman of the Section of Valvular Heart Disease, International Academy of Cardiology.

The following Members of the International Academy of Cardiology will also take part in the Opening Ceremony:

• Dr. John A. Elefteriades, New Haven, CT, USA; Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Yale University School of Medicine; Member of the Scientific Executive Committee; Chairman, Section of Cardiovascular Surgery, International Academy of Cardiology
  
  
• Prof. Naranjan S. Dhalla, Canada, Distinguished Professor and Director, Cardiovascular Developments, SBRC, Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, St. Boniface General Hospital Research Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; Member of the Scientific Executive Committee and Chairman of the Section of Cellular Biology of the Heart, International Academy of Cardiology

• Dr. John B. Gordon, San Diego, CA, USA; President, California Chapter of the American College of Cardiology

• Prof. Laurence Sperling, Atlanta, GA, USA; Professor of Medicine, Medical Director of Preventive Cardiology Clinic, Emory University; Member of the Scientific Executive Committee, International Academy of Cardiology
  
  

Awards will be presented for Distinguished Contributions to Medicine and Cardiology.

The International Academy of Cardiology has established five awards to honor the memory of distinguished colleagues who made a major contribution to Medicine and Cardiology and who were members of the faculty for previous International Academy of Cardiology meetings. As in previous years, a very prestigious Awards Committee selected the recipients.

Dr. Jeffrey S. Borer and Dr. John A. Elefteriades, Co-Chairmen of the Awards Committee, will present the following awards for 2014 at the Opening Ceremony of the Congress:

• The WALTER BLEIFELD MEMORIAL AWARD for distinguished work in the field of Clinical Research
  
• The ALBRECHT FLECKENSTEIN MEMORIAL AWARD for distinguished work in the field of Basic Research
  
• The JAN J. KELLERMANN MEMORIAL AWARD for distinguished work in the field of Cardiovascular Disease Prevention
  
• The HANS-PETER KRAYENBUEHL MEMORIAL AWARD for distinguished work in the field of Research in Cardiac Function
  
• The MELVIN L. MARCUS MEMORIAL AWARD for distinguished contribution as a Gifted Teacher
  
• The DISTINGUISHED FELLOWSHIP AWARD for profound contribution to Cardiovascular Medicine and important service to the Academy

Dr. Kimchi notes that, “The Congress will provide the opportunity for a comprehensive overview of the latest research developments primarily in the areas of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology, Genetics of Heart Disease, Cardiac Imaging, Coronary Artery Disease, Peripheral Arterial Disease, Preventive Cardiology, Interventional Cardiology, Lipoprotein Disorders, Hypertension, Metabolic Syndrome, Heart Failure, Valvular Heart Disease, Diseases of the Aorta, Cardiac Arrhythmias and Electrophysiology, Implantable Cardiac Pacemakers and Cardioverter-Defibrillators, Sudden Cardiac Death, Pediatric Cardiology, Congenital Heart Disease, Cardiac Surgery, Heart Transplantation, Mechanical Circulatory Support and Measurement of Outcome and Quality of Cardiovascular Care."

According to Dr. Kimchi, "Papers will be presented in the form of plenary sessions, symposia and posters and will include superb scientific material originating from numerous laboratories around the globe that was carefully selected by the Scientific Abstract Review committee from over eight hundred abstracts submitted for presentation at the meeting. The five hundred twelve studies selected for presentation originate from laboratories in fifty-three countries. This assures that the meeting will be a major scientific event."

Dr. Kimchi proudly announced, “The World Congress on Heart Disease has been endorsed by most prestigious medical societies and associations. The scientific program of the Congress has been reviewed by the American Medical Association and approved for 23.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. The Congress is affiliated with the American College of Cardiology, California Chapter and the American Society for Preventive Cardiology and has been endorsed by the Heart Valve Society of America.”

Among the highlights of the program are three joint scientific sessions: 1) “Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Risk Factors” (Joint Session with the American Society for Preventive Cardiology), 2) “Valvular/Congenital Heart Disease, Cardiac Surgery “ (Joint Session with the Heart Valve Society of America) and 3) “Cardiac Structure and Function in Failing and Non-Failing Hearts” (Joint Session with the American College of Cardiology / California Chapter)

The International Academy of Cardiology, founded twenty-five years ago by Dr. Asher Kimchi, is dedicated to the advancement of global research in cardiovascular medicine through the support of scientific meetings and publications. Over the past two decades, the World Congress on Heart Disease has become one of the most prestigious meetings in cardiovascular medicine and has been attended by thousands of physicians and scientists worldwide.

Registration for the 19th World Congress on Heart Disease, presented by the International Academy of Cardiology, in Boston, MA, USA from July 25-28, 2014 is available online at http://www.CardiologyOnline.com. The Congress takes place at the Hyatt Regency Boston, One Avenue de Lafayette, Boston, MA, USA.

For further information or to book interviews, please contact Cirina Catania at The Catania Group, Inc., klimedco(at)ucla(dot)edu.

CIRINA CATANIA
The Catania Group
news@catania.us

Download article as pdf

Click here to view Cardiology Online News articles on Opening Lectures.