Latest Advances In Interventional Cardiology For Congenital Heart Disease Presented At International Symposium

Main Category: Heart Disease
Article Date: 18 Jul 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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Distinguished medical experts in the burgeoning field of interventional therapies for congenital and structural heart disease will gather in Las Vegas July 20-23 for the Pediatric & Adult Interventional Cardiac Symposium (PICS/AICS). Specialists from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago will perform live cases utilizing advance technologies during the course of symposium.

On Monday, July 21st, Dr. Ziyad M. Hijazi, director of the Rush Center for Congenital and Structural Heart Disease, will perform closure of an atrial septal defect (ASD) and patent ductus arteriosus closure. Hijazi is the course director and a founding member of PICS/AICS. He recently became the 31st president of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI).

Several specialists from Rush will moderate or lead sessions, including a workshop about ASD involving Hijazi, Michel Ilbawi, chief of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, and Zahid Amin, interventional cardiologist; a discussion about catheterizing critically ill infants led by Ilbawi, a breakout session about adult structural heart disease moderated by Dr. Cliff Kavinsky, interventional cardiologist; and a program on closure of ventricular septal defects by Amin.

In addition, specialists from Rush will present numerous studies, including information on the use of the Hemcon1 bandage to shorten the duration of bed rest following cardiac catheterization procedures, the safety of patent foramen ovale closure in elderly patients, and maternal and fetal outcomes following transcatheter device closure of ASD.

PICS/AICS 2008 is the most comprehensive symposium worldwide in the field of interventional therapies for congenital and structural heart disease in children and adults. The four-day conference brings together a select international faculty who provide demonstration, live operations and present the latest breakthroughs in their field. The symposium attracts more than 800 interventional cardiologists from more than 60 countries.

Hijazi is a pioneer in the non surgical repair of congenital heart defects. In addition to being widely published in his area of expertise, he has led groundbreaking national clinical trials of novel transcatheter closure devices for the treatment of ASD, ventricular septal defects, patent ductus ateriosys and patent foramen ovale. As a result of his research, the FDA approved the first ASD closure device for use in children in 2001.

Currently, Hijazi is evaluating percutaneous valve implantation for patients with defective pulmonary valves. In 2005, Hijazi became the first person in the United States to perform this innovative procedure.

www.rush.edu