ACC.19 Wrap-Up: An Adult Congenital and Pediatric Cardiology Perspective

ACC.19 in the Big Easy was attended by a record number of Adult Congenital and Pediatric Cardiology (ACPC) members, with most sessions being standing room only!

Community Day
The pre-meeting Community Day kicked off with a lively discussion regarding managing burnout (including the emotional toll of taking care of very sick children and the need for self-compassion), followed by breakout sessions on building a portfolio for academic promotion, tips on successful negotiations, maximizing revenue, electronic health record management and work-life balance. There was representation from physicians both in private practice and academic medicine, fellows-in-training and early to mid-career and senior faculty, all of whom learned from each other and took advantage of networking opportunities. Kudos to Dr. Tim Feltes and the ACPC Leadership Council for putting together this relevant, practical agenda!

Scientific Sessions
This year's sessions focused on a wide range of innovative topics from fetal life to adulthood—from updates on the progress of tissue-engineered heart valves and application of maternal hyperoxygenation for fetal congenital heart disease (CHD) to the unique characteristics of Fontan heart failure, Fontan associated liver disease, evaluation of and attempts to obviate or treat pulmonary arteriovenous malformations by rerouting hepatic blood flow, to technological advances in the management of advanced heart failure in CHD and problems unique to our patients, such as coronary artery disease hastening neurocognitive decline in this cohort already at high risk. Innovative use of technology was also highlighted from bedside data acquisition and integration, to applications of machine learning for automated imaging interpretation, to the merger of multiple independent pediatric cardiac databases and networks for cost savings and redundancy reduction. Dr. Meryl Cohen gave an excellent, succinct summary of the year that was in CHD, emphasizing multi-disciplinary advances across multiple institutions, variations in care, and long-term outcomes. Dr. Gerard Martin gave an inspiring Dan G. McNamara Memorial Keynote Address underscoring the integral role of advocacy and collaboration in improving the outcomes in CHD. These are just a few highlights of this year's sessions. Kudos to Dr. Andy Powell for this innovative topic lineup!

Big Tent Events
Laughter and fun were plentiful as good sports from across the nation competed in the "Newlywed Game" at the Engage Studio, sharing clinical approaches to challenging patient management issues and their approach to achieve value (hint: it's quality divided by cost). Congratulations Teams Cincinnati and Denver, who tied for first place!

Social media was big as were the other sessions put together by Women in Cardiology (#ACCWIC). The Personalized Skills & Simulation Center was utilized heavily by both fellows-in-training (#ACCFIT) and experienced practitioners. Congratulations to Dr. Tim Feltes and the Adult Congenital and Pediatric Cardiology (#ACCACPC) section for being one of the member section awardees!

As we look forward to ACC.20, we hope to bring back Community Day with more member engagement and to increase member involvement in submissions and presentations that focus on the many models of care that best serve our diverse patients and communities. See you in Chicago in 2020!

Keywords: Pediatrics, Coronary Artery Disease, Leadership, Work-Life Balance, Arteriovenous Fistula, Pulmonary Veins, Pulmonary Artery, Heart Failure, Liver Diseases, Electronic Health Records, Faculty, Heart Valves, Cohort Studies, Heart Defects, Congenital, ACC Annual Scientific Session, ACC19


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