MUSC Heart Transplant Program
Conferences
The first annual Congestive Heart Failure and Heart Transplant Symposium
was held September 12-14 at the Hilton Head Resort at Palmetto Dunes.
All conference attendees expressed that the conference as very well organized
and relevant to professional practice. Overall rating of the conference
was excellent. Highlights included our guest speaker Dr. William
Abraham from the University of Cincinnati who discussed the newer therapies
in congestive heart failure specifically, Carvedilol. Carvedilol’s
use in the treatment of patients with refractory heart failure looks promising
and was recently made available from the FDA. Dr. Roger Evans from
the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota spoke about the economic issues
in transplantation. His rather unique presentation based on humor
and the raw facts about managed care was enlightening to the audience.
Medical University of South Carolina faculty also addressed the conference
participants about issues in transplantation and other relevant topics
about Congestive Heart Failure.
All conference attendees stated they would attend
the conference next year and suggested the follow new topic ideas; surgical
alternatives such as revascularization, pediatric issues in CHF and Transplantation,
current trends in management if CAD, The LVAD as a bridge to transplant,
post transplant management and discharge planning. At this point
we are planning a second symposium at a location as yet to be decided and
would encourage any reader comments from this E-mail. Any responses
should be sent to coepf@musc.edu.
Look to this web page for any up coming announcements for next year’s symposium.