Atherothrombosis

Title of Program: Prevent The Event: A Case Discussion of Atherothrombosis

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Program Overview:
Rates of death from cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases have been steadily declining over the past few decades. In spite of these declines, atherothrombotic disease continues to be a worldwide challenge in terms of morbidity, premature death, and disability with tremendous costs to patients, healthcare systems, and society. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) claims more lives each year than cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease, and accidents combined. In the United States alone, CVD and stroke remain the number 1 and number 3 killers of both men and women of all races and ethnicity. Nearly 2300 Americans die of CVD each day, an average of 1 death every 38 seconds. 

The primary care clinician plays a critical role in early diagnosis and detection of atherothrombosis, since the earliest signs and symptoms are often subtle and appear many years before its full-blown manifestation. Both primary and secondary prevention strategies include long term risk factor modification. For either primary or secondary prevention to be effective, provider/patient communication leading to good adherence to medication and lifestyle modifications is absolutely essential.

Atherothrombosis and the heightened risk of recurrence represent major challenges to the clinician. Although vascular specialists often treat these patients acutely, the primary care setting is crucial in continuing lifestyle changes, effective drug therapy, and implementing treatment guidelines that have been initiated. Therefore, primary care clinicians must be comfortable and conversant with all current recommendations and guidelines, understand the most effective implementation techniques to use with their patients, and be familiar with resources available to assist in tackling this epidemic of CVD in their practices.

This case-based, interactive lecture will demonstrate both knowledge and implementation of comprehensive risk reduction strategies and the AHA/ACC/ASA Guidelines for treating patients with atherothrombotic disease, with an emphasis on antiplatelet therapies.

Learning Objectives:
After completing this activity, the participant will be able to

1. Identify traditional and emerging risk factors that may aid in identifying patients at risk and with sub-clinical CVD
2. Implement the AHA/ACC Guidelines for  oral antiplatelet  therapy in patients with  all forms of ACS (UA, NSTEMI, STEMI, and PCI)

Accreditation/Designation Statement:
Primary Care Network is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Primary Care Network designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Target Audience:
This activity is targeted to all physicians and other healthcare professionals who treat patients with Atherothrombosis.

Release Date: August 2, 2010
Expiration Date: August 2, 2011

Medium: Podcast

Acknowledgment of Commercial Support:
This activity was developed from the live Best Practices in Primary Care™ program held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on June 18, 2010 and is funded by Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi Pharmaceutical Partnership.

Method of Participation:
To receive CME credit for this activity, you must read the CME information (including the learning objectives and disclosures) and listen to the entire program. Upon finishing the podcast, complete the post-test and evaluation and fill out all required personal information. To receive your CME certificate you will need to pass the post-test with 70% accuracy or better.

Post-test and Evaluation: After completing this activity, click on the Post-test button at the end of the program. If you receive less than 70% on the post-test, you will be returned to the beginning of the activity to review the presentation again. Upon successful completion of the post-test, you will be asked to fill out a program evaluation form and prompted to print your CME certificate. Please be ready to print your certificate at this time.

Statement of Disclosure and Independence
It is the policy of Primary Care Network, Inc. to ensure all its sponsored educational activities are planned, developed, and conducted in accordance with the ACCME’s Essential Areas and Policies. In accordance with ACCME requirements, Primary Care Network has Conflict of Interest and Disclosure Policies that are designed to ensure that Primary Care Network sponsored educational activities are fair balanced, independent, evidence‐based and based on scientific rigor.

Primary Care Network’s Resolution of Personal Conflicts of Interest (COI) Policy aims to ensure that all conflicts are resolved prior to the activity, content is developed and presented free of commercial bias, and is in the interest of promoting improvements or quality in healthcare. All individuals who are in a position to influence and/or control content of a Primary Care Network sponsored activity are required to disclose to the participants any real or apparent conflict of interest related to the activity. The educational content is also reviewed for independence and content validation by an independent external clinical reviewer and internal clinical reviewer. Independence is also monitored through the activity and overall program evaluation process.

The opinions, ideas, recommendations, and perspectives expressed in the accompanying presentations at this Primary Care Education program are those of the program authors and presenting faculty only and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, ideas, recommendations or perspectives of their affiliated institutions, Primary Care Network, Primary Care Education, Advisory Boards and Consultants, or the activity’s commercial supporters.

Faculty and Disclosure:

Robert M. Schainfeld, DO, FSVM
Lecturer on Medicine
Harvard Medical School
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, MA

Dr. Robert M. Schainfeld is a member of the speaker’s bureau of the Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi Pharmaceutical Partnership.

Philip Altus, MD, MACP
Professor of Medicine Emeritus
University of South Florida
Tampa, FL

Dr. Philip Altus has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Planning Committee and Disclosures:
Philip Altus, MD, MACP
Professor of Medicine Emeritus
University of South Florida
Tampa, FL

Dr. Philip Altus has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.

F. Wilford Germino, MD, FACP
Associate Professor of Medicine
Rush Medical College
Chicago, IL

Dr. F. Wilford Germino is a member of the speaker’s bureau of AstraZeneca, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi Pharmaceutical Partnership, Forest Labs, and Novo-Nordisk. He serves on advisory boards for Bristol-Myers Squibb, the Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi Pharmaceutical Partnership, and Forest Labs and is also a consultant for Forest Labs.

Lawrence E. Mieczkowski, MD
Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine
Wright State University School of Medicine
Medical Director, Center for Cardiometabolic Treatment
Dayton, OH

Dr. Lawrence E. Mieczkowski is a member of the speaker’s bureau of Abbott Labs, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi Pharmaceutical Partnership, Merck, and Pfizer.

Marianne F. Smith
Medical Writer
Hilton Head Island, SC

Marianne F. Smith has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Review Committee Disclosure
In accordance with PCN policy, all content is reviewed by external independent peer reviewers for balance, objectivity and commercial bias.  The peer reviewers, staff, and other individuals who control content have no relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Unlabeled Use Declaration
During their presentation(s), faculty may discuss an unlabeled use or an investigational use not approved for a commercial product. Each faculty member is required to disclose this information to the audience when referring to an unlabeled or investigational use.