So with 1 week to go the programme is out on my desk and planning begins. There is a huge amount of educational material and trying to create a manageable timetable is difficult!

First stop has to be the ‘Late Breaking Clinical Trials’ (LBCT).

Meetings like the ACC allow you to catch up on the very latest in areas outside your specialist area.

Of the 5 sessions I will be interested in hearing about:

The PLATO study- ticagrelor vs clopidogrel in patients with ACS undergoing CABG

• outcomes and bleeding complications. Has clopidogrel met its match or more?

Optimal duration of dual anti-platelet therapy after drug-eluting stent implantation

• guidelines vary. Will this trial give more clarity?

STOP-AF. Cryoballon ablation of  pulmonary veins for PAF

CABANA Trial: catheter ablation vs. anti-arrhythmic therapy for atrial fibrillation

• with the rapid expansion in ablation for AF are we really doing the best for our patients?
• will drugs be more cost effective than ablation…an expensive procedure in any health economy?

Betrixaban- a direct Factor Xa inhibitor- a randomised dose trial of 3 doses

• an alternative to warfarin?

Combination lipid therapy. Effects on cardiovascular events in Type II diabetes. ACCORD study.

And finally….The most interesting one for me will be the results of the EVEREST II trial comparing percutaneous mitral valve repair and surgical repair for mitral regurgitation! Whilst we have excellent results from mitral valve surgery at Papworth Hospital in the UK  there is no doubt that, in time, a precutaneous device will offer another choice for the patient. Has that time arrived?……

An impressive line up and aiming to answer many questions we have day-to-day in cardiology!

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..For all this and more (yes, there are many more!) go to the ACC web link. Click here

There are of course many more and you can review here

So, what is coming up? There are 5 LBCT