What I Am Most Looking Forward to at TCT 2019

This year’s TCT meeting will be back in San Francisco, CA, a familiar setting for the conference. I am excited to attend for my sixth time. I am in my third year of general cardiology fellowship and looking forward to soon becoming an interventional fellow, so there are a few sessions that I am particularly eager to check out. I know it can be somewhat daunting for fellows and trainees, especially those who have not attended such large medical conferences before, to navigate their way through such a jam-packed agenda. To help with this, here are my picks for some of the most interesting content to be featured at TCT 2019.

1)      This may be an obvious choice, but the Late-Breaking Clinical Trial sessions at TCT are truly can’t-miss events. Running from Thursday, September 26 to Sunday, September 29, these sessions feature a number of great studies, including what should be fascinating studies focused on antiplatelet strategies in patients with coronary disease (TWILIGHT, EVOLVE Short DAPT, among others), revascularization strategy trials for left main (5-year follow-up from EXCEL), complete versus infarct-only artery revascularization in STEMI (COMPLETE timing substudy), and CTO revascularization (Euro-CTO 3-year follow-up). Additionally, I am looking forward to hearing about trials focusing on therapies for valvular heart disease—3-year follow-up and cost-effectiveness analyses of COAPT, 5-year follow-up from PARTNER 2A, and a subclinical leaflet thrombosis substudy of PARTNER 3.

2)       I am also very much excited about attending the Highest-Graded Abstract Session on the morning of Saturday, September 28, during which time I am proud to say that two of my friends and colleagues from NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center will be presenting—Katherine Chau, MD, on paravalvular leak from PARTNER 2A and Elissa Driggin, MD, on novel mechanisms to assess frailty and to risk stratify patients undergoing therapy for severe aortic stenosis. Additionally, two of my long-term mentors and teachers will be presenting during this session—Gregg Stone, MD (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY), regarding the impact of using optimal technique when deploying the Absorb bioresorbable vascular scaffold (Abbott), and Susheel Kodali, MD (NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center), on transcatheter therapies in tricuspid regurgitation.

3)       I’ve heard a lot of buzz and excitement about the brand new Women in Structural Heart (WISH) session, which will take place on the evening of Wednesday, September 25. This session will feature a number of my female mentors highlighting their involvement and role in advancing care for patients with structural and valvular heart disease. I think this will be a fantastic new piece of programming at the conference, allowing the audience to learn more about groundbreaking therapeutics in structural heart disease and simultaneously call further attention to the need for greater representation of women in the field.

4)       As an aspiring interventional cardiologist, I’m looking forward to registering for programs in the Training Pavilion to continue building skills and learning techniques in a number of important areas, including intravascular imaging and physiology, structural heart interventions, and cardiogenic shock and support devices. Specifically, as a soon-to-be interventional fellow, I plan to attend a session on Thursday, September 26 to help develop my skills in vascular access and closure for large-bore devices and management of cardiogenic shock.  

5)       Innovation again seems to be a key theme at TCT, most present in dedicated sessions like talks by ZDoggMD—Stanford hospitalist Dr. Zubin Damania—on “Healthcare, Remixed” happening Thursday evening and Facebook's Freddy Abnousi, MD, MBA, MSc, on social determinants of health Saturday morning. I have watched several of ZDoggMD’s hit videos online that speak to important issues in healthcare through clever and catchy songs. It will be fascinating to hear Dr. Abnousi’s thoughts on how social media can profoundly influence our treatment of patients. Additionally, the Shark Tank Competition, on the morning of September 26, is always a unique and exciting session. I am looking forward to seeing what novel devices and therapeutics this year’s participants will have to offer.

6)       As always, TCT is a great opportunity to catch up with many old friends and mentors as well as meet and network with a number of new ones. The collegial nature of the conference, which is facilitated by many integrated social media components, makes for a truly interactive community. A great opportunity to meet other fellows

7)       Last but certainly not least, I am eager to attend the live cases in the coronary, structural, and peripheral vascular theaters as they are always full of excellent teaching points and novel therapeutics. These are especially great opportunities to learn about different styles and techniques that experts all over the world use in their daily practice.

You can follow along on my TCT 2019 adventures by following me on Twitter at @MVMadhavanMD. Outside of the meeting, I’m looking forward to all that the Golden Gate City has to offer, including amazing restaurants (some of my favorites include Pizzeria Delfina, Taqueria El Farolito, and Udupi Palace, all in the Mission District), great coffee shops (Philz Coffee can be found in many locations throughout the city), and the sights and scenes while taking a break at Fisherman’s Wharf and Dolores Park. Enjoy San Francisco!