Interview with ACC President Dr Dipti Itchhaporia

Cardiology in COVID-19 times

conducted by Dr Kelly Schoonderwoerd



We interviewed Dr Dipti Itchhaporia during the ACC 2021 Scientific Session. Dr Itchhaporia is the programme director of disease management at the Jeffrey M. Carlton Heart and Vascular Institute in California, USA, where she leads the congestive heart failure management programme and the anticoagulation clinic. She is also an associate professor at the University of California School of Medicine.

What was new or different in the way that the ACC scientific session was organised this year?

ACC.21 underscored the resilience of the global cardiovascular community and our ability to continue to conduct research, learn, and provide life-saving care to patients no matter the circumstances. ACC.21 was a robust meeting with 6 simultaneous “live” channels with over 100 presentations over 3 days, over 300 on-demand sessions featuring over 3,000 abstracts, and the ability to engage through live presenter chat and virtual networking sessions. And although nothing can replace the excitement and camaraderie that happens at an in-person conference, the shift to virtual allowed even those who may be unable to attend in person, to participate.

This year's theme was "Reimagine Global Heart Health." Can you expand on some areas that require reimagining?

A key response to the pandemic has been the large-scale deployment of telemedicine as a substitute for in-person care throughout the USA, and worldwide. Telehealth has quickly become a viable option for continuing to treat and manage patients.

Health equity is also part of how we are reimagining heart health. We need to recognise socioeconomic determinants of health and how they contribute to heart disease as the number one killer worldwide.

The ACC 2021 scientific session presented an extensive programme; which presentations do consider to be particularly pivotal or ground-breaking?

ACC.21 featured several sessions addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and lessons learned to date, as well as several important sessions looking at health equity and social determinants of health in the context of patient care. We had an impressive line-up of Late-Breaking Clinical Trials and Featured Clinical Research. Two noteworthy ones were the ADAPTABLE trial and the ATLANTIS trial.

Your area of interest includes medical and lifestyle interventions to prevent cardiovascular disease; which presentations at the conference were especially relevant to the goal of prevention?

One that stood out for me was the Lancet Commission Report on the Global Burden of CV disease in women; it put forth 10 recommendations that provide an important framework and tangible actions that need to happen if we hope to save the lives of women around the globe.

What solutions would like to see implemented towards health equity / improving access to care for underserved patients?

We have developed the ACC Presidential Health Equity Task Force to help actualise our health equity goals by focusing on 5 key areas:

1. 
   
   1. improving access to care;
   2. reducing systemic and structural barriers that cause health disparities;
   3. addressing social, economic, educational, and environmental conditions that influence cardiovascular health;
   4. leveraging established tools for change (e.g. education, public policy) and emerging new social technologies; and
   5. strengthening partnerships with effective leadership organisations (e.g. the Association of Black Cardiologists, American Board of Internal Medicine, and the American Medical Association).

Given your focus on emerging risk factors, are there any conditions that you forecast will be occurring with greater frequency in the upcoming years?

Clinician wellness is a key area of focus now and in the future. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the pre-existing problem of clinician burnout. I predict that digital transformation will improve our lives.

 Do you see a changing or expanding role for cardiologists, post-COVID?

COVID has reminded us that better health lowers risk for other diseases; therefore, our message of prevention of cardiac risk factors is more important than ever.

Post-COVID, cardiologists will continue to implement telehealth in the management of heart disease across the continuum of care. It will be interesting to look back in 10 years to see how telehealth has transformed medicine and patient care.

 

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Posted on 9 July 20219 July 2021