Director: Dr Paolo Angelini, Texas Heart Institute

King's College London and the Texas Heart Institute are hosting an innovative international meeting dedicated to the urgent need to reform Preventive Health services for athletes. The Symposium is collecting important leaders from different backgrounds to discuss the current state of Sport Cardiology and attempt to propose a new standard.

The Symposium is an opportunity to discuss collegially urgent issues in preventing sudden cardiac death in athletes, with the unique team of world-recognized experts, coming from many disciplines. Additionally, there will be a sub-section with updates of the pathophysiology and severity methods in anomalous coronary arteries, as based on IVUS imaging. Several clinical cases of CAAs will be discussed by physicians in training and experts.

 

MEETING PROGRAM

Morning Session: "Prevention of SCD in athletes: Status quo and an urgent call for improvements"

8.15-8.35 - The historical role of autopsy in discovering the causes of sudden death in athletes (Prof G. Thiene, Padua, Italy)

8.35-8.55 - A resting EKG to support H&P screening (Prof D. Corrado, Padua, Italy)

8.55-9.15 - Can echocardiography provide a reliable structural heart disease screening? (Dr A. Malhotra, London, UK)

9.15-9.35 - Screening-MRI: virtual autopsy. Can it be the winner of the competition? (Dr P. Angelini, Houston, USA)

9.35-9.50 - The unique history and opportunity of the US military personnel in Exercise clinics (Dr J. Furgerson, San Antonio, USA)

9.50-10.10 - Coffee break

10.10-12.00 - Round table: “Can we agree on: 1. We need a new protocol to prevent SCD; 2: We can deliver amore cost-effective new method; 3: Who needs the new protocol certification?” (Dr S. Flamm, Prof D. Corrado, Dr C. Bucciarelli-Ducci, Dr P. Angelini, Prof G. Thiene, Dr J. Furgerson, Dr A. Chiribiri, Dr M. Papadakis)

12.00-13.00 - Lunch

Afternoon session: "Coronary arteries significant anomalies: a fundamental update, based on MRI and IVUS"

13.00-13.20 - Introduction (“high-risk” coronary anomalies, embryology of coronary development: ACAOS-IM) (Dr P. Angelini, Houston, USA)

13.20-13.40 - Pathologic Anatomy perspectives on CAAs (Prof G. Thiene, Padua, Italy)

13.40-14.00 - Screening MRI to prevent SCD in athletes. Technical comments on the screening protocol. Interpretation issues. (Dr S. Flamm, Cleveland, USA)

14.00-14.40 - Clinical relevance of ACAOS-IM: IVUS for severity evaluation. (Dr P. Angelini, Houston, USA)

14.40-15.00 - Panel’s and open discussion. Can echocardiography be used for indicating surgical intervention in ACAOS-IM (AAOCA)? The issue of “inter-arterial” or “between aorta and PA” nomenclature.

15.00-15.15 - Coffee break

15.15 – 17.00 - Case presentations