The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions

www.scai.org August/September2006

In the early days of May, as SCAI’s 29th Annual Scientific Sessions rapidly approached, expecta-tions were running high. All the signs indicated

that the meeting might surpass everyone’s hopes. Records had been broken: first, the number of abstracts submitted (Fig. 1); then advance registration tal-lies higher than ever before. And, in those days leading up to the May 10 kick-off, the Ex-position sold out, the phones were humming, and SCAI staff worked to expand the block of rooms reserved at the meeting’s official hotels.

Still, one never knows how well an educational meeting will fare until attendees begin picking up their badges at Reg-istration. But President Barry F. Uretsky, M.D., FSCAI, and Pro-gram Chair Ted Feldman, M.D., FSCAI, were optimistic.

It turns out their instincts were right on. The Scientific Sessions started right on sched-

ule, and traffic through the registration desk continued at a brisk pace for the better part of four days.

Finally, after everyone had a chance to catch their breath, the two most important indicators of the meeting’s success rolled in. Total attendance came to 1300, with significant increases

SCAI has urged the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to go back to the drawing board on its proposed new payment

system that, if implemented, would significantly re-duce hospital reimbursement for invasive and inter-ventional cardiology procedures.

On June 5, Mark Turco, M.D., FSCAI, represented SCAI at a news conference held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. He explained to a large group of journalists that the CMS-proposed changes

are based on old data and a flawed methodology. Pay-ment for drug-eluting stents and other breakthrough treatments would be cut by as much as 33 percent.

“If implemented, these changes may very well make it difficult for physicians to deliver to Medicare benefi-ciaries, and all patients, the innovative medical care that has led to declines in mortality from cardiovas-cular disease,” said Dr. Turco. “It is short-sighted of Medicare to base payment on cost data from an era

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AnnualScientificSessionsExceedHighestExpectations

SCAIFightsProposedHospitalPaymentReductions

The Annual Banquet was held in Chicago’s amazing Field Museum.

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SAVE THE DATEMay 9–12, 2007, in Orlando, FL

SCAI’s 30th Anniversary Annual Scientific Sessions

Best of the Best in Interventional CardiologyCongenital Heart Disease Interventional ProgramJudkins Cardiac Imaging SymposiumHemodynamic SymposiumC3 SummitPeripheral SymposiumExpoMuch, Much More

Watch future issues of SCAI News & Highlightsand www.scai.org for details.

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A Round of Applause for the Scientific Sessions Program Committee. Though not everyone on the Committee made it into the photo above, SCAI extends a special thanks – and very nice plaques – to the dedicated team that planned and organized such a successful meeting. From left: Drs. Gregory Braden, Morton J. Kern, Bonnie Weiner, David Kandzari, and Ted Feldman, with Dr. Barry F. Uretsky. Shown below, and very much appreciated, are: Drs. Ziyad Hijazi, Warren K. Laskey, Jeffrey J. Popma, Carlos Ruiz, and Zoltan S. Turi.

A Special Guest From ACC. SCAI President Dr. Barry F. Uretsky (left) and Program Chair Dr. Ted Feldman (right) welcomed ACC President Dr. Steven Nissen (center) to the meeting. Dr. Nissen is a strong advocate of partnership between the two organizations, whose missions often overlap.

More Than 300 New Fellows. The Society welcomed new Fellows from all over the world, including five shown here.

SCENESFROM

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SCAI Spans Generations. Society Past Presidents and Founding Fellows Dr. Frank Hildner (left) and Dr. Harry Page (right) welcomed new Trustee Dr. Michael Lim (center), who co-chairs the Society’s Interventional Career Development Committee.

Best of the Best in Interventional Cardiology. The meeting rooms evidenced the success of the Scientific Sessions. For the better

part of four days, the meeting rooms were filled with attendees who overall praised both the quality and value of the educational program.

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over all past years (Fig. 2) in every registration category, from professionals and nurses, to technicians, exhibitors, and media. Even more important, the data collected on the quality and relevance of the program, once analyzed, yielded the highest ratings and positive comments about the experience of attendees and what they learned. One SCAI Fellow emailed SCAI headquarters: “The SCAI meeting in Chicago was truly an excellent meeting in both content and execution. It was really one of the best meetings I have been to in years. I wanted to personally thank you and the rest of the SCAI staff for organizing and running this superb meeting.” This interventional-ist’s sentiments were echoed again and again by member and nonmember attendees alike.

Program Emphasizes Relevance to Patient CareFrom Wednesday’s Judkins Cardiac Imaging Sym-

posium and the new Hemodynamic Symposium to Saturday’s Peripheral Symposium and C3 Summit, the SCAI meeting provided relevant, useful knowledge that attendees can put into practice upon returning to their patients. Many attendees reported that they would indeed make changes in patient care or clinical practice because of what they learned at the meeting. Here are a few examples, in their own words:

Better strategize PVD intervention. Having seen successful alternative techniques for CTOs, I will be more aggressive and novel in my approaches; new bifurcation stent techniques are possible.Better, more evidence-based use of antiplatelet agents. Changes in ACS pharma. Will alter anticoagulation regime and change what I do for bifurcations. Utilization of EBCT in risk stratification; consider higher dose/longer treatment with clopidogrel. Become even more attentive to access site man-agement and patient preparation. Attendees also got a look at what is coming down

the research pipeline as they explored the Exposition and heard from the diverse faculty that included widely recognized investigators from Europe, South America, and the Asia-Pacific region.

Balancing out the high-tech science was a mix of practical sessions and case reviews that zeroed in on both the basics of interventional cardiology and some of the most challenging of complications. In fact, sessions focused on complications consistently filled the classrooms, and many attendees gathered around plasma screens throughout the meeting so they could watch the presentations and discuss the implications with colleagues.

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As is traditional at the SCAI Scientific Sessions, moderators provided time for questions and discus-sions. Attendees routinely commented that they ap-preciate the opportunity to chat with faculty members following a session. Such conversations have become the hallmark of the meeting, said Dr. Feldman, who remarked, “The conversations at the breaks are as big a highlight of this meeting as anything. Young interventional physicians have the easy opportunity to speak with the faculty and each other, and I think this occurs at our meeting to a degree that exceeds any other meeting in the world.”

Dr. Feldman was quick to share the credit for the meeting’s success with his colleagues on the Program Committee. David Kandzari, M.D., FSCAI, co-chaired the meeting and chaired the Peripheral Symposium. Ziyad Hijazi, M.D., FSCAI, and Carlos Ruiz, M.D., Ph.D., FSCAI, co-chaired the Congenital Heart Dis-ease Interventional Program, which featured extremely well-received sessions for both congenital and adult cardiologists as well as the popular “I Blew It” session on complications. Also focused on complications was the Third Annual Complex Coronary Complications, or C3, Summit, directed by Jeffrey Popma, M.D., SCAI. The always-comprehensive Judkins Cardiac Imaging Symposium was chaired by Warren K. Laskey, M.D., FSCAI. New to this year’s program was the He-modynamic Symposium, which was filled to capacity and chaired by Zoltan Turi, M.D., FSCAI, and Mor-ton Kern, M.D., FSCAI.

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SCAI Scientific Sessions (continued from page 1)

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Figure 1. Abstract submission growth since 2002

THANK YOUSCAI thanks Drs. Martin Leon and Gregg Stone, of the

Cardiovascular Research Foundation, for their help in promoting SCAI’s 29th Annual Scientific Sessions.

By the time you read this, my presidency will be well underway and you will be aware of my priori-ties for my presidency from reading my President’s

Pages in CCI or visiting the Society’s Web site, www.scai.org. Nevertheless, I would like to use this President’s Message to reiterate one of the most important “themes” of my service as SCAI’s President: SCAI is your Society. It belongs to you, and your participation in its activities will help it grow and become all the more effective.

You can participate in a number of ways, de-pending on your interests and personal objectives. The easiest route to in-volvement in SCAI is through our very active committee structure. I encourage you to log on to scai.org and click on “Committees.” There you will find a full list of the Society’s committees along with information on their goals. With very few exceptions, the com-

mittees extend an open invitation to all members in good standing to join them and help further SCAI’s mission. The committees meet two to three times per year, but the majority of their work is done by email, listserve, and conference call. No matter where you live and practice, you can participate.

In addition to joining an SCAI committee, you can strengthen the Society — and, therefore, its efforts in quality, advocacy, and education, to name just a few — by helping the Society to grow. SCAI’s ranks continue to expand at an impressive pace, now numbering more than 3,500. If you have any colleagues who have not yet joined SCAI, please encourage them to do so.

As you become more involved in SCAI, you will notice that certain themes continually recur on our agenda. To conserve space, I will list the “headliners” only briefly, but I encourage you to review the Society’s Strategic Plan for the next five years at http://www.scai.org/drlt3.aspx?PAGE_ID=3715

Quality-of-care: In my view, quality is at the root of all of SCAI’s activities, and has been since the Soci-ety was founded. Your Society is actively involved in the development and dissemination of many practice guidelines, position statements, and other

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official documents aimed at improving the quality of care our patients receive. In addition, a wide vari-ety of issues in healthcare policy have evolved from the goals of government and third-party payers to deliver quality care while conserving expenditures. SCAI’s advocacy arm is immersed in these issues. Global Partnerships: Our specialty is growing in all regions in the world, and SCAI is often invited to be part of that growth. We welcome opportuni-ties to collaborate with our colleagues in Latin America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region, for example. The result will be enriched educational and collegial experiences for all of us. Advocacy: Your Society is cultivating a proactive stance on all issue related to healthcare policy and quality so that the interests of interventional cardiology and its patients are well-represented. High-Quality, Relevant Education: Today, more than ever before in SCAI history, we offer more educational programs on a diverse range of topics, to an increasingly diverse audience. Vigilance is needed to ensure that quality and relevance are maintained in all SCAI educational offerings. Please also communicate your thoughts on any of

SCAI’s initiatives to me by emailing president@scai.org. I am deeply honored to serve as your President and view the feedback I receive from our members as invaluable. n

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MeSSAGe FRoM The PReSIdeNT

ThemesfortheYearAhead

Gregory J. Dehmer, M.D., FSCAI

SCAI News & Highlights is published bimonthly byThe Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions

9111 Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda, MD, 20814-1699Phone 800-992-7224; Fax 301-581-3408;

www.scai.org; info@scai.org

Gregory J. Dehmer, M.D., FSCAIPresident

Morton Kern, M.D., FSCAIEditor-in-Chief

Kathy Boyd DavidManaging Editor

Rick HenegarDirector, Membership

and Meetings

Andrea HickmanPublications & Committee Operations Coordinator

Sarah JonesMembership Coordinator

Norm LinskyExecutive Director

Wayne PowellSenior Director,

Advocacy and Guidelines

Bea ReyesDirector, Education

Betty SangerSponsorship and

Development

Touch 3Design & Production

Imaging ZonePrinting

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SCAI’s Industry Partners Raise Caliber of Meeting

The success of the Annual Scientific Sessions is also due in large part to the generous support of SCAI’s partners in industry. At the Exposition, more than 40 organizations showcased the latest tools and tech-niques that comprise the interventional cardiologists’ armamentarium. Dennis Metcalf, of long-time exhibi-tor Toray, says that SCAI has become the only U.S. meeting where he exhibits. “At the SCAI meeting, I reach my target audience specifically,” he said, “and I appreciate how the staff and leaders of the Society are interested in exhibitors’ welfare. It feels like a family, but it also gets you business.”

Also among the Society’s valued industry part-ners (see the Thank You box below for a complete list) is Boston Scientific, which brought to the meet-ing its state-of-the-art Mobile SimSuite® simulation bus. There, physicians practiced new procedures and used new technologies on Simantha®, a lifelike man-

nequin designed to let physicians make mistakes and learn from them.

The Society also extends special thanks to Cor-

SCAI Scientific Sessions (continued from page 3)

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VISIonaRyCordis, a Johnson & Johnson companyGE healthcare

tRuStEE Boston Scientific Corporation

PRESIdEnt Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi Pharmaceuticals PartnershipGuidant CorporationMedtronic Vascularsanofi-aventisSchering Plough

SuStaInER abbott Vasculardaiichi Sankyo, Inc. and Eli Lilly and Companythe Medicines Company

aChIEVER Siemens Medical Solutions uSa, Inc.St. Jude MedicalJohn Wiley & Sons, Inc.

FRIEnd Berlex Laboratories, Inc.heartlab Inc.

SPECIAL APPrECIAtIon IS ExPrESSEd to:

John Wiley & Sons, Inc., for support of the Founders’ and hildner Lectures.

SCAI ALSo tHAnKS:

Cordis, a Johnson & Johnson company, for its generous educational grant to support the Third Annual Interventional Fellows Complex Coronary Complica-tions (C3) Summit.

GE healthcare for its support of the 2006 SCAI/GE Healthcare Fellows Grant Pro-gram for Research in Angiography and Diagnostic Imaging.

Cordis for its support of the 2006 SCAI/Cordis Fellowship Program for Interven-tional Cardiology.

the Society for Cardiovascular angiography and Interventions expresses deep appreciation for the generous support from the following companies:

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Figure 2. Annual meeting attendance over the past six years

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Hospital Payments (continued from page 1)when many of the new technologies we have today simply did not exist.”

Also represented at the news conference were leaders from the Heart Rhythm Society; Society

of Thoracic Surgeons; Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association; Society for Women’s Health Re-search; and AdvaMed, a professional society of medical device com-panies. The story was widely covered in the press and Dr. Turco of-ten quoted. (To read Dr. Turco’s statement to the press, go to http://www.sca i .org /dr l t1.aspx?PAGE_ID=4645.)

Meanwhile, SCAI initiated development and submission of a multispecialty letter to

CMS opposing the changes and pointing out how such changes could have significant adverse conse-quences for patient care. SCAI also submitted its own comments to CMS (http://www.scai.org/pdf/CMS%20Hosp%20Inp%20Comments.pdf) and will follow up with key administrators and congressio-nal leaders to fight the scheduled implementation of the changes on Oct. 1, 2006.

To view a chart summarizing CMS’s proposed changes, go to http://www.scai.org/PDF/Proposed_2007_Hospital_Fee_Changes.pdf. n

With its emphasis on practical approaches to the most complex challenges encountered during interventional cardiology procedures,

the Third Annual Interventional Fellows Complex Cor-onary Complications (C3) Summit won the praise of annual meeting attendees at all stages of their careers.

The C3 Summit held at this year’s SCAI meeting provided the opportunity for graduating interventional cardiology fellows to present their toughest cases and complications to the C3 Summit’s esteemed faculty of moderators. More than 120 eligible fellows registered for the C3 Summit, which was supported by an educational grant from Cordis, a Johnson & Johnson company.

The fellows were joined by many more seasoned interventionalists in the audience, including SCAI Presidents Barry Uretsky, M.D, FSCAI, and Gregory Dehmer, M.D., FSCAI, who were eager to listen in on the 33 cases that were presented, including a vari-ety of rare complications, such as coronary saphenous vein graft, left ventricular perforations, aortic dissec-tions, spontaneous dissections of the native coronary arteries, and infective coronary pseudoaneurysms. The presentations of selected cases can be found on the In-terventional Fellows Institute website for review.

The program was held over two days and included time for moderators to quiz the attendees about the prevention and management of complications. The seasoned faculty moderators included Drs. Manish Parikh, Mark Reis-man, David Holmes, Christopher White, Lloyd Klein, Ted Feldman, Greg Braden, and Program Director Jef-frey J. Popma. Many attendees reported that the program taught them many new and practical tricks for dealing with rotational atherectomy complications and handling the manifestations of coronary dissections and perfora-tion. “Insights from the faculty moderators provided the collegial flavor that, while complications occur even with the best technique, prevention lies at the forefront of complication prevention,” said Dr. Popma.

The C3 Summit also featured some friendly competi-tion. Fellows were invited to submit and present the worst case they had encountered. The attendees rated the cases and the three highest-ranked presenters received plaques as well as monetary awards. The winners were —

First place: Vijay Verma, M.D., of Cooper Medical Center, for “A Plumber’s Job Is Never Complete”; Second place: Howard Min, M.D., of the University of California at Davis, for “Ticks and Fleas”; and Third place: Ricardo Vicuna, M.D., of the Univer-sity of Illinois, for “The Back Door Is Open.” n

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Fellows-in-TrainingGiveC3SummitRaveReviews

“SCAI cannot support changes

based on a flawed methodology and

old data,” Dr. Turco explained during the June 5 news

conference in Washington, D.C.

After the prepared statements, Dr. Turco and other speakers took questions from the press.

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Two dedicated, long-time Fellows of SCAI were honored at the 29th Annual Scientific Ses-sions. In appreciation of their tireless efforts to

further the field of interventional cardiology and the Society’s mission, Charles Chambers, M.D., FSCAI, and Ted Feldman, M.D., FSCAI, received F. Mason Sones, Jr., Distinguished Service Awards.

“SCAI bestows no higher honor than the Distin-guished Service Awards,” said then-President Barry F. Uretsky, M.D., FSCAI, “and I can think of no mem-bers more deserving than Charlie and Ted.”

In one of his last official duties as President, Dr. Uretsky nominated Drs. Chambers and Feldman for the recently renamed awards. To pay tribute to the So-ciety’s co-founder, Dr. Mason Sones, his name became part of the service award’s title. (Thanks go to Steve Balter, Ph.D., who suggested that the award be renamed to honor Dr. Sones.) “We wanted the recipients of this award to have their names linked to the legacy of Ma-son Sones, whose vision led to the existence of SCAI,” continued Dr. Uretsky. “Such vision combined with volunteer spirit sets them apart.”

Dr. Chambers recently completed a term on the Board of Trustees and is currently the chair of the Labo-ratory Performance Standards Committee. In this latter capacity, he co-authored the Society’s important state-ment on infection control in the cardiac catheterization laboratory as well as several other position papers. He is actively involved in the Society’s efforts to reestablish a laboratory testing service and has served as SCAI ’s rep-resentative on a number of initiatives, including testify-ing before the FDA on issues related to radiation safety. “Charlie has for years volunteered to work on some of SCAI ’s most important initiatives — activities that sig-nificantly further the profession of interventional cardi-ology,” said Dr. Uretsky. “He is a dedicated and talented cardiologist. His patients and the medical community in general are well-served by his knowledge, insightful-ness, and focus on issues that affect the quality of care we all deliver.”

Dr. Feldman is a past President of SCAI and has served on many of its committees as well as the Board of Trustees. Most recently, he chaired the Program Com-mittee for the 29th Annual Scientific Sessions in Chi-cago (see p. 1) and volunteered to serve again as chair of the 200� meeting. He has been active in nearly all of the Society’s mission areas, including co-authoring im-portant practice guidelines and chairing the Education Committee during the recent period when the Society dramatically expanded its educational offerings. “Ted

represents the highest ideals of SCAI and medicine in general,” said Dr. Uretsky. “He is a skilled cardiologist, and has been an extraordinary advocate for advanc-ing cardiovascular care and fostering the ideals of the cardiovascular profession. In addition, he has been in-strumental in providing objective, unbiased, and useful education to the SCAI membership.” n

Drs.Chambers,FeldmanReceiveServiceAwards

Dr. Barry F. Uretsky honored Dr. Ted Feldman (at left in photo above) and Dr. Charles Chambers (on left in photo to right) for years of dedicated volunteer service to SCAI. During the Annual Banquet, both received F. Mason Sones, Jr., Distinguished Service Awards, the highest honor bestowed by SCAI.

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Interest in cardiovascular CT is sizzling, and SCAI continues to lead the way in this hot area, offering a full array of educational resources and aggressive

behind-the-scenes advocacy—all aimed at securing a leading role for interventional and invasive cardiolo-gists in this latest high-tech tool for the evaluation of patients with heart disease.

“Interventionalists and invasivists have a major ad-vantage in understanding cardiac CT and integrating it into practice. We’ve spent our careers focusing on the coronary arteries, so this makes sense very quick-ly,” said Robert Schwartz, M.D., FSCAI, who directs translational research at the Minneapolis Heart Insti-tute and Foundation.

Dr. Schwartz knows of what he speaks. In June, he directed an SCAI-sponsored, hands-on course on car-diac CT, leading a sold-out crowd through some 50 cases spanning the ordinary to the exotic. Collaborat-

ing with a workstation partner, each attendee honed the skills needed to reformat two-dimensional axial CT slices into three- and four-dimensional renderings of the heart and blood vessels, each of which could be rotated, flipped, shaded, color-coded—and reformat-ted again into a new view as needed.

“To become proficient, you really need to get your hands on the workstation and do the analysis first-hand,” Dr. Schwartz said. “At the same time, people find that digital manipulation and virtual detection are really fun.”

In October, in Atlanta, Dr. Schwartz’s team will of-fer another hands-on, case-based course, this time as a satellite program to SCAI’s two-day focused training in cardiac CT and CT angiography, directed by John McB. Hodgson, M.D., FSCAI, and Matthew J. Budoff, M.D., FSCAI. The main course, being offered for the third time—the second time this year alone, thanks to popular demand—will itself have an increased emphasis on case analysis, said Dr. Budoff. This will help attendees complete both the didactic training re-quirements and minimum number of mentored cases needed to achieve clinical competency in cardiac CT by the July 2008 deadline outlined in guidelines devel-oped by SCAI, the American College of Cardiology, and the American Heart Association.

The program will be tailored to all skill levels. “Based on audience members and their level of train-ing, we’re going to adjust the cases. If there’s a more advanced group, we’ll provide more advanced cases, and if there are novices, we’ll provide simpler cases that they can get through,” said Dr. Budoff. The com-bined focused training and case-based satellite course will return to Phoenix, AZ, in January 200� as well.

In addition to drawing crowds at its educational programs, SCAI is working aggressively to ensure that interventional and invasive cardiologists take the lead in shaping the future of cardiovascular CT. The Society is a founding member of a new group work-ing with the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission to develop an independent cardiac CT accreditation program. The group met for the first time in May.

“This will allow our members to meet quality stan-dards and apply for a stamp of approval for their CT lab-oratory—which in turn will enable them to meet pay-ers’ coverage and payment criteria,” said Wayne Powell, SCAI’s senior director for advocacy and guidelines.

SCAI is also in discussions with the Society of Car-diovascular Computed Tomography and others to begin exploring options for independent credentialing of physicians in cardiovascular CT. The group met for

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The Learning by the Cases program helps attendees become proficient at digitally manipu-lating and interpreting cardiovascular CT images. From left: David Caye, Tom Knickelbine, M.D., John R. Lesser, M.D., Program Director Robert S. Schwartz, M.D., FSCAI, and Bjorn Flygenring, M.D.

CT UPdATe

SCAIStillLeadingtheWayinCardiovascularCT

SCAI greatly appreciates the generous in-kind support of CT workstations from

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the first time in July. A key provision SCAI is advo-cating: the need for multiple credentialing pathways for physicians of different subspecialties.

“The training and educational requirements that any credentialing body develops shouldn’t try to fit two different groups of cardiologists into the same pathway,” Mr. Powell said. “Our members have signifi-cant experience in evaluating the coronary arteries. They don’t need additional training in that area.”

In the meantime, there have been hints that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is considering tightening its coverage policy for cardiac CT. In May, the Medicare Coverage Advisory Com-mittee, at the request of CMS, held a meeting to com-pare noninvasive imaging to coronary angiography for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease.

The panel attempted to apply the standards of evi-dence-based medicine and cost-effectiveness analysis to the issue, an approach that may not be reasonable when evaluating rapidly changing technology, said Dr. Hodg-son, who testified at that meeting for SCAI. For exam-ple, only a handful of studies have been published on the use of 64-slice CT for the evaluation of coronary artery disease. Still, the data that exist are impressive—and they build on a wealth of evidence on the use of invasive angiography to guide care and determine prognosis.

“I tried to get the point across that cardiac CT is a new way of doing something we’ve been doing for years; that the studies have shown it to be very, very effective for certain types of coronary issues; and that

it actually provides some additional information that you can’t get on a coronary angiogram,” Dr. Hodgson said. “We had a very credible position because CT was being compared to diagnostic angiography, and we are obviously the experts in that.”

In the future, interventional cardiologists will have an even stronger voice in guiding Medicare coverage decisions. SCAI President Gregory J. Dehmer, M.D., FSCAI, has been nominated and accepted as a mem-ber of the advisory panel (see p. 12). n

Dr. Schwartz (center) takes questions from attendees William LaFoe, M.D., FSCAI (left), who chairs SCAI’s Credentials Committee, and David Cox, M.D., FSCAI (right), who co-chairs the Society’s Education Committee.

THANK YOU

Cardiac CT and CT Angiography – Focused Training for Cardiologists

January 13–14, 2006The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and

Interventions expresses deep appreciation for the generous support from the following companies:

GE HealthcareToshiba America Medical Systems, Inc.

Philips Medical SystemsSiemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc.

TeraRecon, Inc.Vital Images, Inc.Schering-Plough

Appreciation is also expressed to the following companies for in-kind support of educational

workstations for the program:

Vital Images, Inc.TeraRecon, Inc.

GE HealthcarePhilips Medical Systems

Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc.

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Thai Interventionalists Welcome SCAI President to Scientific Gatherings

Upon arriving in Thailand in March, Barry F. Uretsky, M.D., FSCAI, was enthusiastically

greeted by two long-time SCAI Fellows: Drs. Gump-anart Veerakul and Sudaratana Tansuphswadikul.

“After a long trip, it was gratifying that the first two people I met in Thailand were Fellows of the Society,” said Dr. Uretsky. “It reinforced the fact that the Society has become a global entity, with members throughout the world and opportunities to promote the SCAI mis-sion well beyond U.S. borders.”

Dr. Uretsky attended two scientific gatherings in Thailand, first at the Sririraj Hospital in Bangkok, and then the Royal Thai Heart Association meeting in Pat-taya. He was treated as an honored guest, presenting lec-tures on the treatment of cardiovascular disease and talk-ing with many of the country’s interventionalists about how SCAI might continue to forge relationships with its counterpart societies.

“Everyone I met was very respectful of SCAI and enthusiastic about collaborating with the Society,” said Dr. Uretsky. “Interventionalists everywhere are interested in the same issues and have similar priori-ties. Our international colleagues view the Society as a force for positive change. It is our privilege and our responsibility to assist them and to learn from them as well.” n

APSIC Designates CCI as Its Official Journal

Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions has long been the official Journal of SCAI, but now

CCI has a second home as well. The Asia-Pacific So-ciety of Interventional Cardiology (APSIC) has desig-nated CCI as its official Journal. The result is a stron-ger bond between SCAI and APSIC as well as a new forum for the global interchange of new ideas relevant to the practice of interventional cardiology.

“Interventional cardiology is growing at a remark-able rate throughout the Asia-Pacific region, and APSIC is an important contributor to that growth,” said SCAI Immediate Past President and Interna-tional Committee Co-chair Barry F. Uretsky, M.D., FSCAI. “We are honored that APSIC values CCI as we do.”

CCI Editor-in-Chief Christopher J. White, M.D., FSCAI, will appoint an Editorial Board Member from the Asia-Pacific region.

Dr. Uretsky and his co-chair on the International Committee, Joseph D. Babb, M.D., FSCAI, are enthusi-astic about the opportunity to further expand and diver-sify SCAI’s membership. “All of APSIC’s Fellows will become International Associate members of SCAI,” explained Dr. Babb. “We’ll get to grow our ranks and, perhaps more important, more easily access the talents and knowledge of our colleagues in the Asia-Pacific region. This is a real benefit to our members through-out the globe and to the field of interventional cardi-ology.” n

SCAI Offers Carotid Artery Stenting Training Throughout World

SCAI’s unique and comprehensive approach to train-ing physicians for competency in both the cognitive

and technical aspects of carotid artery stenting (CAS) is rapidly gaining recognition worldwide. To date, facul-ty members from SCAI’s Core Curriculum in CAS have hosted the program, with assorted modifications to suit each audience, on at least four continents in addition to North America. Core Curriculum Co-director Christo-pher U. Cates, M.D., FSCAI, has personally traveled to China, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, destinations in Europe, and, most recently, Brazil.

At each of these training sites, attendees have ex-pressed enthusiasm for the Society’s innovative model for training physicians in new high-risk technologies. Next on the agenda are courses in India, Mexico, and South America. “SCAI is working with intervention-al cardiology societies around the world to standardize training so we can help create a worldwide standard of quality,” said Dr. Cates. “We’ve entered an excit-ing era in which SCAI is playing a worldwide role in helping to define and measure quality in procedural-based medicine.” n

INTeRNATIoNAl NewS

An international assembly: The Royal Thai Heart Association brought together interven-tionalists from around the globe. From left: Bruce Murphy, M.D., of Little Rock, AR; Neil Strickman, M.D., FSCAI, of Houston, TX; President of the Royal Thai Heart Association Suphachai Chaitiraphan, M.D., of the Chao Phya Hospital in Bangkok; then-SCAI President Barry F. Uretsky, M.D., FSCAI; and Damras Tresukosol, M.D., who is president of the Thai Interventional Club and Secretary-General of the Royal Thai Heart Association.

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SCAI and Cordis, a Johnson & Johnson com-pany, together honored two interventional-ists-in-training at the Society’s 29th Annual

Scientific Sessions in Chicago. As the recipients of the 2006 SCAI/Cordis Fellowship Program for Inter-ventional Cardiology, Saar Danon, M.D., and Priya Velappan, M.D., will each receive a $25,000 grant to support their research in the year ahead.

Ultimately, the proposals of Drs. Danon and Velap-pan stood out among the finalists because their proj-ects “seemed to have more than the usual promise for important clinical application,” said Dr. Hildner.

A postdoctoral fellow in the Division of Pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego, Dr. Dan-on will conduct a project titled, “Development of the Techniques and Devices for a Transcatheter Cavo-pulmonary Anastomosis.” He will explore the pos-sibility of creating connections between large vessels and also the heart to treat patients with life-threaten-ing congenital anomalies. “This is a novel, progres-sive, and perhaps even unique con-cept,” explained Dr. Hildner. “Al-though it will be investigated for feasibility in ani-mals, if it is suc-cessful, the leap to human appli-cation will be a short one.”

Dr. Velappan, a fellow in the Cardiology Divi-sion of East Caro-lina University in Greenville, NC, will investigate “A Novel Pressure Waveform Analy-sis Algorithm for Assessing Physiologic Significance of Coronary Stenoses.” A new algorithm will ana-lyze the waveform obtained from a pressure catheter passed through the suspect lesion. Dr. Velappan will then compare the results with the current gold stan-dard of FFR to determine the algorithm’s validity. “We all know that subjective visual estimation of a possible stenosis may be incorrect. If this inexpen-sive technique is demonstrated to be accurate, then it will make the decision to perform angioplasty

more certain and much quicker,” said Dr. Hildner. “There is real potential for the practical application of this technique.”

Drs. Danon and Velappan will attend the 200� Scientific Sessions as guests of the Society and will present updates on the progress of their investigations next year.

Dr. Hildner stressed that SCAI is honored to part-ner with Cordis to offer this fellowship program. “I don’t think it’s possible to understate the importance of programs like this one that encourage young in-terventionalists to pursue careers in academic medi-cine,” he said. “The strength of this year’s proposals is evidence of how much potential there is out there. I’m so pleased that we are able to help these two young physician-investigators to launch their careers as researchers.”

A Tribute to the ChairThis year also marked the last year that Dr. Hild-

ner will chair the SCAI/Cordis Fellow-ship Program for In-terventional Cardiol-ogy Committee. After 18 years at the helm of SCAI’s fellowship awards efforts, he is stepping down. “The first SCAI fellowship was awarded in 1988,” he said. “In 18 years, we have worked with several different cor-porate sponsors and are grateful for their partnership. We be-lieve this effort works. A recent survey of past awardees showed that 80 percent en-

tered academic cardiology at least for some time. Plus, awards like these encourage both clinicians and fellows to look to research as a way to contribute their knowledge and talent to better patient care. I’m honored that I’ve been able to be a part of it for so many years.”

The Society is deeply indebted to Dr. Hildner for his efforts on this valuable initiative, stressed SCAI Immediate Past President Barry F. Uretsky,

SCAI,CordisAnnounce2006FellowshipAwardees

These two interventional cardiologists-in-training should be very proud of this accomplish-ment, said Frank J. Hildner, M.D., FSCAI, who chaired the SCAI committee that evaluates the submissions and selects the grant recipients. “The competition was fierce this year,” said Dr. Hildner. “We had a record number of well-qualified applicants and research proposals of the highest quality. The committee agonized over its decision. We wished we could have awarded more grants.” From left: Drs. Velappan, Danon, and Hildner.

(continued on page 19)

AdVoCACY ANd GUIdelINeS UPdATe

SCAI Forces Government to Release Comments on Renal Artery Stenting

Until recently, the federal government was plan-ning to issue a final report on renal artery stenting

based in part on information it would not share. SCAI asked to see the information and, when its request was refused, filed a Freedom of Information Act Request. SCAI has been granted access to the information.

Wayne Powell, SCAI’s senior director for advocacy and guidelines, used the power of the Freedom of In-formation Act to gain access to comments and data submitted to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) in response to a draft report on the cost-effectiveness of management strategies for renal artery stenosis. This action has cleared the way for open and careful analysis of a report that could reshape Medicare’s coverage policy for renal artery stenting.

“We need to know how other organizations re-sponded to the report and what kind of data they supplied to AHRQ so we can make better recommen-dations to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which requested this report to guide its cov-erage decision-making. We need to review any data submitted, find out who’s on the opposite side of this question, and determine whether they have any valid arguments,” said Joseph D. Babb, M.D., FSCAI, who chairs SCAI’s Advocacy Committee.

The AHRQ draft report has raised a flurry of con-troversy since its release. The report concluded that, although interventional management of renal artery stenosis appears to improve blood pressure control, there is no evidence from randomized controlled tri-als that it prolongs life, improves kidney function, or reduces the rate of adverse cardiovascular events when compared to medical therapy.

The rub: the report’s conclusions were based on sparse evidence. Moreover, the studies cited in the report focused on percutaneous transluminal angio-plasty (PTA), not on renal artery stenting. “It is in-appropriate to use PTA as a ‘surrogate’ for stenting, given the documented superiority of the latter over PTA alone,” said Kenneth Rosenfield, M.D., FSCAI, chair of SCAI’s Peripheral Vascular Committee, in a written response to AHRQ.

Strong data comparing renal artery stenting to medical therapy are not expected until 2010. That’s when the Cardiovascular Outcomes in Renal Ath-erosclerotic Lesions (CORAL) trial, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is slated to re-port its findings.

For now, Dr. Babb hopes that decisions about Medicare reimbursement for renal artery stenting

remain in the hands of local payers, rather than fall-ing under a national coverage policy. n

SCAI President Selected for Medicare Coverage Advisory Committee

SCAI President Gregory J. Dehmer will begin a 2-year term on the committee of physicians who

provide advice and recommendations to the Cen-ters for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on clinical issues. The Medicare Coverage Advisory Committee (MCAC) selected 50 physicians based on their qualifications, not on their positions in pro-fessional societies such as SCAI. Dr. Dehmer was nominated for this position because of his expertise in clinical and administrative medicine as well as his extensive experience with data registries and quality improvement. The American Medical Association and American College of Cardiology both endorsed Dr. Dehmer’s nomination.

“MCAC is a very important body because it helps CMS analyze issues related to treatment of Medicare patients. In the past, they have advised on carotid stenting and advanced imaging versus diagnostic cath-eterization. In the future, they may be consulted on renal artery stenting [see above] and PCI vs. CABG,” said SCAI Senior Director for Advocacy and Guide-lines Wayne Powell. “Having SCAI’s president as a voting member of the MCAC panels advising CMS on these crucial coverage issues is very important.”

Dr. Dehmer’s term on MCAC begins Jan. 1, 200�. n

Guidelines Update

SCAI continues to be immersed in a large number of practice guidelines and other official statements.

The range of topics is diverse, and SCAI’s role in their development varies depending on the topic. SCAI News & Highlights will feature updates on the publica-tion of these documents, and scai.org will remain an easily accessible repository. At press time, a number of documents were in the writing and review stages, and SCAI had recently endorsed the following:

ACC/AHA Guideline Update on Periopera-tive Cardiovascular Evaluation for Noncardiac Surgery. SCAI thanks John Robb, M.D., FSCAI, for participating on the writing committee for this guideline, and Mark Turco, M.D., FSCAI, for his work as a peer reviewer. ACC Cardiac CT/MR Appropriateness Criteria. The Society thanks John McB. Hodgson, M.D., FSCAI, for his work on the panel that developed these criteria. (For more CT news, see p. 8.) n

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SCAI is pleased to welcome the following Fellows to the Board of Trustees.Each will serve from May 2006 to May 2009.

SCAIWelcomesNewTrustees

James C. Blankenship, M.D., FSCAIDanville, PA

Marco Costa, M.D., Ph.D., FSCAIJacksonville, FL

Jumbo Ge, M.D., FSCAIShanghai,

Peoples Republic of China

Kenneth Rosenfield, M.D., FSCAIBoston, MA

Christopher U. Cates, M.D., FSCAIAtlanta, GA

Kirk N. Garratt, M.D., FSCAINew York, NY

Michael J. Lim, M.D., FSCAISt. Louis, MO

Carlos E. Ruiz, M.D., Ph.D., FSCAINew York, NY

SCAI also thanks the following Fellows whose terms as Trustees ended in May,during the Scientific Sessions:

Peter C. Block, M.D., FSCAIAtlanta, GA

Hans J.J.R.M. Bonnier, M.D., Ph.D., FSCAI

Endhoven, Netherlands

Charles E. Chambers, M.D., FSCAIHershey, PA

Larry S. Dean, M.D., FSCAISeattle, WA

Ziyad M. Hijazi, M.D., FSCAIChicago, IL

J. Jeffrey Marshall, M.D., FSCAIGainesville, GA

Gregg W. Stone, M.D., FSCAINew York, NY

Christopher J. White, M.D., FSCAINew Orleans, LA

No photoavailable

SCAI Fall Fellows Course Will Emphasize Technical Performance and Evidence- Based Medicine

The directors of the 2006 SCAI Fall Fellows Course: Cardiovascular Techniques Summit are planning

a four-day educational experience November 29 – December 2, 2006, in Las Vegas. The course will in-clude live cases, medical simulation, and state-of-the-art clinical reviews. Senior interventional cardiology fellows from the United States and Canada (graduating in 200�) will gain a better appreciation of indications, techniques, and expected outcomes for interventional coronary, cardiac, and endovascular procedures. The Society is pleased to offer complete scholarships to these fellows to attend the course. More information is available online from www.scai.org. n

“All That Jazz”: First Medical Meeting in New Orleans Since Katrina

In October 2005, when it was time to start planning the annual All That Jazz Cardiology Conference,

Christopher J. White, M.D., FSCAI, and Stephen R. Ramee, M.D., FSCAI, were a little concerned. New Orleans, where the popular CME course had been held for the preceding 14 years, was still ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, although reconstruction was underway. The conference would be the first major medical meeting held in New Orleans since the di-saster. “It was risky,” said Dr. White. “We couldn’t be

sure the hotels would be operational in time for All That Jazz.”

They took their chances and, May 1–4, when the meeting convened, their motto, “Les Bon Temps Roulez,” carried the day. Approximately 650 physi-cians, nurses, and technicians attended the meeting, where 33 live cases were done in just 2½ days. “We had a lot of help from our friends!” said Dr. White. “And we had better attendance than we expected.”

SCAI was pleased to exhibit at the meeting and thanks Drs. White and Ramee for rescheduling their meeting so it would not conflict with the SCAI An-nual Scientific Sessions.

Drs. White and Ramee are making plans to wel-come everyone back next year, April 30–May 3. n

i2 Summit Showcases Late-Breaking Clinical Trials

SCAI congratulates the American College of Car-diology Foundation on the successful debut of the

Innovation in Intervention, or i2, Summit, held con-currently with the College’s Scientific Session in At-lanta. The Society thanks Ted Feldman, M.D., FSCAI, for co-chairing the i2 Summit while also chairing the SCAI 29th Annual Scientific Sessions. Dr. Feldman was among several SCAI representatives on the i2 Program Committee.

SCAI is pleased to announce that it will co-sponsor the i2 Summit again in 200�. Members are encouraged to mark their calendars for March 24–2�. SCAI Im-mediate Past President Barry F. Uretsky, M.D., FSCAI, will co-chair the i2 Summit Program Committee along with with colleagues from SCAI and ACC.

During the Society’s 29th Annual Scientific Ses-sions, SCAI had the pleasure of speaking to many in-terventionalists who attended the i2 Summit as well. “Again and again, physicians emphasized how dis-tinct each of the gatherings is,” said SCAI consultant Don Poe, Ph.D., vice president of Applied Research Analysts. “Interventionalists turn to i2 for the latest clinical trial results, to see interesting live cases that present unique clinical scenarios, and to delve into evidence-based medicine. The SCAI meeting is their venue for obtaining the comprehensive information they need to continually improve the quality of care they provide in the cath lab.”

Dr. Poe continued. “One fellow told me, ‘We need both kinds of meetings, and I’ll plan to continue at-tending both whenever I can.’” n

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IN The NewS

From left, the course directors: Bonnie Weiner, M.D., FSCAI, Daniel McCormick, D.O., FSCAI, Michael Cowley, M.D., FSCAI, and Sheldon Goldberg, M.D., FSCAI.

dis, a Johnson & Johnson company, for its generous educational grant that enabled eligible interven-tional cardiology fellows in their last year training to attend the C3 Summit with their registration fees, airfare, and hotel accommodations covered (see p. 6). In addition, Cordis teamed up with SCAI to of-fer one-year research grants to two interventional cardiology fellows-in-training who proposed in-novative projects with potential to impact patient care (see p. 11). Also supporting the development of interventional fellows is GE Healthcare, which again sponsored the SCAI/GE Healthcare Fellows Grant Program in Invasive Cardiology. The program provide grants to invasive cardiologists-in-training for outstanding contributions to angiography and di-agnostic imaging research (see the next issue of this newsletter).

Collegial Atmosphere Makes Meeting UniqueThe recipients of both fellowship awards programs

were formally announced at the Annual Banquet, where Barry F. Uretsky, M.D., FSCAI, handed over the Society’s reins to his successor as SCAI Presi-dent, Gregory J. Dehmer, M.D., FSCAI. Held in Chi-cago’s inspiring Field Museum, not far from “Sue,” the famous Tyrannosaurus Rex, attendees took a break from learning to relax and catch up with friends. During a short program at the start of the banquet, Dr. Uretsky gave a special tribute to Dr. Patrick M. Scanlon, who passed away in February 2005. He wel-comed Dr. Scanlon’s family as well as Sarah Johnson, M.D., FSCAI, whose eloquent words about her men-tor will be published in CCI.

SCAI Scientific Sessions (continued from page 5)

Changing of the Guard. As is SCAI’s tradition, President Dr. Barry F. Uretsky (left) passed the torch to his successor, Dr. Gregory J. Dehmer, by clipping “-Elect” off the new President’s annual meeting badge.

Special Thanks to Our 2006 Exhibitors

SCAI thanks each of the following organizations for participating in the Exposition at the 29th Annual

Scientific Sessions in Chicago.

Abbott VascularAGA Medical Corporation

American Board of Vascular MedicineAmerican College of Cardiology

A-Vox SystemsBerlex LaboratoriesBoston Scientific

Bracco DiagnosticsCook Inc.

Cordis CardiologyCardiva Medical, Inc.

DigiradGE Healthcare

Grady Research, Inc.GuerbetGuidant

Heartlab, an AGFA CompanyICU Medical, Inc.

IHEKensey Nash Corporation

Kerberos Proximal Solutions, Inc.Lippincott, Williams & WilkinsMarine Polymer Technologies

McKesson CorporationMedtronic

NMT Medical, Inc.Northern AZ Healthcare

Possis Medical Inc.Radi Medical Systems, Inc.

Sanofi-AventisSchering Corporation

Shimadzu Medical SystemsSiemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc.

SpectraneticsSt. Jude Medical

The Medicines CompanyToray Marketing & Sales (America), Inc.Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc.

TZ Medical Inc.United Medical CenterVolcano Corporation

Witt Biomedical Corporation

See You Next Year, May 9–12, in Orlando, FL !

For more information on how to participate in the Exposition, call 800-992-7224, or log on to www.scai.org.

(continued on page 19)

SCAI has unveiled its computer-based program for education and self-assessment in carotid artery stenting (CAS). Accessible through www.scai.

org, the online training program is the second step in the Society’s three-tiered model for training in new, high-risk technologies. With 14 in-depth learning modules, the program was designed to reinforce cognitive knowl-edge users acquire during the first step in the educational model – the Core Curriculum in CAS – while setting the stage for their entry into Step III, simulation training.

Attending the Core Curriculum, or at least being signed up to attend the next offering of the highly re-garded didactic course, is a prerequisite for entering the virtual doors of the online program, explained Chris-topher U. Cates, M.D., FSCAI, who co-chairs SCAI’s Committee on CAS Initiatives with Michael J. Cowley, M.D., FSCAI. “The online learning modules serve to reinforce, and enhance, the knowledge acquired during the Core Curriculum,” said Dr. Cates, “while they also use the Internet to its maximal capability to create a type of remote simulation for activities such as stent placement

and deployment of distal-protection devices.” The interactive nature of the program is one of its great-

est strengths, added Dr. Cates, who thanked SCAI Fellows such as Drs. Bonnie Weiner, Barry Uretsky, Joseph Babb, Michael Cowley, Robert Bersin, and Ken Rosenfield for the time and effort they contributed to arrive at “one of the best products out there for CAS training and testing.”

The testing component of the program is another strength, said Dr. Cates. “The program changes the self-assessment test so that no two users answer the same questions, yet every user is thoroughly tested to determine readiness for simulation training at regional centers.”

That’s the next step, soon to be unveiled in a pilot program at Emory University. Physicians will be eligi-ble to participate in the simulation phase of training as soon as they have completed the Core Curriculum and passed the online test. They’ll participate in groups of four, allowing for a uniquely intimate, hands-on educa-tional experience during which they will run different CAS cases on simulated patients until they achieve the same benchmarks as experts. n

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SCAIOpensPortalforOnlineTraininginCAS

37th AnnuAl CArdiovAsCulAr ConferenCe At snowmAss

JAnuAry 16–20, 2006

The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions expresses deep appreciation for the generous support from the following companies:

Boston Scientific CorporationCordis, a Johnson & Johnson company

Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi Pharmaceuticals PartnershipSt. Jude Medicalsanofi aventis

The Medicines CompanyGuidant Corporation

GlaxoSmithKlineev3,Inc.

Genentech, Inc.Medtronic VascularCV Therapeutics, Inc.

ATS Medical, Inc.Edwards Lifesciences

Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.

thank you

21st Annual CardiovascularConference at HawaiiFebruary 13–17, 2006

The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions expresses deep appreciation for the generous support from the following companies:

Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.CV Therapeutics, Inc.

Genentech, Inc.

Medtronic, Inc.Merck & Co., Inc., on behalf of Merck & Co., Inc.,

and Merck/Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals

CoTherixUnited Therapeutics Corporation

19

Dr. Uretsky also honored Charles Chambers, M.D., FSCAI, and Dr. Feldman for their service to the Soci-ety. They both received the F. Mason Sones, Jr., Distin-guished Service Awards for their unparalleled dedication and commitment to SCAI and its mission (see p. �).

Praise for Meet-ing Sets Stage for Orlando

In the weeks following SCAI’s 29th Annual Sci-entific Sessions, praise for the meeting has come in steadily and consistently. In addition to com-plimentary feed-back from attend-ees, the Society has been gratified by a thick stack of articles written by journalists who attended the meeting or followed it from afar. The three abstracts selected by a panel of SCAI leaders as the “best of the best” pre-sented at the meeting were among those most covered in the press. The winning abstracts were —

First place: “Benefit of Early Statin Therapy for •

Acute Coronary Syndromes: A Meta-Analysis,” by Dr. Anthony Bavry. Second place: “Clopidogrel Desensitization Protocol for the Treatment of Thienopyridine Hyper-sensitivity: Initial Clinical Experience,” by

Dr. Nicholas Walker. Third place: “Safety and Effectiveness of Pa-clitaxel-Eluting Stent Implantation in Over 1000 Very High-Risk Patients: Insights From the Prospective Multi-center Taxus in Real-Life Usage Evaluation (TRUE) Study,” by Dr. Giuseppe Sangiorgi.

Meanwhile, SCAI’s Program Committee for the 200� Annual Sci-entific Sessions is al-ready at work planning next year’s meeting in Orlando, FL. Led again by Dr. Feldman, along with Co-chair George

Dangas, M.D., FSCAI, the committee is analyzing the feedback provided by this year’s attendees and devel-oping another program that is sure to exceed the high-est of expectations. Don’t miss it! Mark your calendar: May 9–12, 200�, for SCAI’s 30th Annual Scientific Sessions in sunny, family-friendly Orlando! n

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Ready, Set, Go ... to orlando! SCAI heads South next year for the 30th Anniversary Annual Scientific Sessions, in sunny, family-friendly Orlando, FL. Here, Dr. Ted Feldman, who will serve as meeting chair for the second year running, and SCAI’s hard-working staff, thank Chicago for memories of a meeting that exceeded all expectations.

M.D., FSCAI. “Dr. Hildner has done so much to ad-vance the field of interventional cardiology, first as Founding Editor of our Journal and, more recently, by heading up the SCAI/Cordis Fellowship program and its predecessor, the Bracco awards,” said Dr. Uretsky. “These efforts have nurtured the develop-ment of many young investigators, and we thank him for it.”

2007 Program UnderwayStepping into the position as committee chair is

William G. Kussmaul, III, M.D., FSCAI. “The com-mittee is in good hands and will benefit from Bill’s leadership,” said Dr. Hildner. “He has been a long-standing, most loyal, and extremely supportive mem-ber of the committee for at least 10 years.”

Dr. Kussmaul is preparing to receive applications

for next year’s program. The deadline for receipt of research proposals is Feb. 5, 200�. To review the eligi-bility criteria and download an application, log on to http://www.scai.org/drlt1.aspx?PAGE_ID=3579. n

SCAI/Cordis Awards (continued from page 11)

At the 29th Annual Scientific Sessions, SCAI was also pleased to honor the recipients of the 2006 SCAI/GE Healthcare Fe-llows Grant Program for Research in Angiogra-phy and Diagnostic Imag-ing. For coverage of the awards and details about

how to apply for next year’s program, check out the next issue of SCAI News & Highlights, or log on to http://www.scai.org/drlt1.aspx?PAGE_ID=3581.

SCAI Scientific Sessions (continued from page 17)

thank you