North Charlotte Today

Atrium Health Care issued the following announcement on March 20.

Researchers and physicians from Atrium Health Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute will be prominently featured at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Annual Scientific Session & Expo, in New Orleanas. Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute researchers led or contributed to more than 20 studies that will be highlighted at the conference.

In addition, at the conclusion of the conference, Dr. B. Hadley Wilson, executive vice chair for Atrium Health Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute, will be inducted as president of ACC for 2023-2024. ACC selected Wilson for the prestigious post last August.

“Atrium Health Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute is dedicated to researching disparities in cardiovascular care and developing innovative solutions that will improve heart health for all – a mission that we share with the American College of Cardiology,” Wilson said. “I am honored and excited to begin my tenure as ACC’s president and to contribute to Atrium Health’s presentations at the conference, many of which are focused on achieving health equity in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac diseases.”

During the conference, Wilson will participate in a symposium about optimizing cardiovascular care worldwide, during which he will discuss results from the ACC’s Global Heart Attack Treatment Initiative (GHATI). The GHATI initiative aims to improve the treatment of a type of heart attack known as an ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in low- and middle-income countries. Over the last three years, the GHATI sites that have improved heart attack care have reduced mortality rates by about 2%.

Among the other highlights of Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute’s participation at the ACC conference will be poster presentations describing disparities in the diagnosis and treatment of two common heart conditions: aortic stenosis and atrial fibrillation. The research goes beyond demonstrating disparities exist by describing where in the patients’ journeys from symptom to definitive treatment the disparities arise. This creates the foundation for designing interventions to eliminate these gaps in care, improving cardiovascular outcomes for all.

“We want to ensure that all people in the communities we serve receive world-class care,” said Dr. William Downey, vice chair of quality and care transformation at Atrium Health Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute, who led the research being presented at the ACC conference.

Dr. Esther (Soo Hyun) Kim, director of the Center for Women’s Cardiovascular Health at Atrium Health Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute, is the senior author on a poster presentation surrounding patients who have had a heart attack because of spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) and factors that may help predict healing of the heart after the heart attack.

Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute will also play a prominent role in presenting late-breaking clinical trials at the conference. The data from these trials will inform the use of devices and treatment regimens to improve the quality of life for patients with heart disease.  

As Wilson moves into his role as ACC president, he said he looks forward to elevating the role of Atrium Health’s physicians and cardiovascular team leaders, in an effort to improve equity in heart health worldwide.

“Cardiovascular death is now the No. 1 killer among non-communicable diseases across the world, and part of the problem is social determinants of health,” Wilson said. “With global education and improved protocols for optimal care, we can change that.”

Original source can be found here.