8:15 a.m. - A Practice Approach to the Patient who “Passed Out”
Benjamin Rhee, MD – Spokane Cardiology

• Pathophysiology of “syncope” and “near syncope”
• When is the heart actually involved?
• What cardiac conditions need “treatment” and how should the best treatment be accomplished?

8:45 a.m. – Challenges and Approaches to the Treatment of Acute Aortic Dissections
Branden Reynolds, MD - Northwest Heart & Lung Surgical Associates

• Are the pathophysiologic causes changing?
• Ordering the right test for the most diagnostic
• Acute treatment approaches: Surgical vs non-surgical
• Long-Term Issues: Management, followup, and natural course

9:15 a.m. – Cardiovascular Features of the Athlete’s Heart – Who Will Live and Who Will Die
Harold Goldberg, MD, FACC – Spokane Cardiology

• Pre-evaluation of patients for physical activities
• Dysrhythmias in the trained athletes
• Sudden cardiac death in athletes – identifying those at risk

9:45 a.m. – Current Guidelines for the screening of Atherosclerotic Vascular Disease
Janice Christensen, MD, FACC – Spokane Cardiology

• Discuss prevalence of disease in patient subgroups.
• Review AHA Guidelines for patient screening

10:15 a.m. – Break & Refreshments

10:30 a.m.– Common Hematologic Problems in Cardiovascular Diseases
Danko Martincic, MD - Cancer Care Northwest

• Heparin-associated thrombocytopenia – facts and fiction
• Anti-Platelet Therapy and platelet dysfunction: Drug effects and clinical concerns
• ASA resistance – prevalence, presentation, diagnosis, and therapeutic options
  

11:00 a.m.– Keynote Address: The ischemic Cardiomyopathy – Clinical Challenges of a New Epidemic
Daniel Fishbein, MD Professor of Medicine – University of Washington School of Medicine

• Reasons for Increasing Prevalence
• Making the Diagnosis – “Hibernating myocardium”
• Therapeutic options and outcomes:
• Medical management
• Antiarrhythmic treatments
• Role for revascularization and outcomes
• Ventricular assist devices and cardiac transplantation
  

12:00 noon – 1:00 p.m.
Lunch and Informal Questions for Panelists

1:00 p.m. – Erectile Dysfunction: Cardiovascular Aspects – What Every Practitioner Should Know
John Peterson, MD, FACC – Spokane Cardiology

• Review of prevalence of the problem
• Understand different pathophysiologic mechanism
• Review treatment options for patients
• Learn ways to improve communication skills with patients

1:30 p.m.– New Controversies in Interventional Cardiology – What stent would I want placed in MY arteries?
Mark Pirwitz, MD, FACC – Spokane Cardiology

• Review prior data on drug-eluting vs bare-metal stents
• Discuss more recent data and questions raised by recent studies
• What can be expected for future stents?

2:00 p.m.– Future Direction: The Emerging Role of Stem Cell Therapy in Cardiovascular Treatments
Pierre Leimgruber, MD, FACC – Spokane Cardiology

• Rationale behind interest in stem cell therapy
• Potential applications in ischemic heart disease
• Potential applications in cardiac dysrhythmias
• From the bench to the patient….how soon for our patients

2:30 p.m.– Q & A, Submit Course Evaluations: Pickup CME Certificates