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Pathfast sponsors continuing medical educational events for healthcare professionals across the country. You can register for upcoming sessions here, or watch archived webinar recordings at any time, from anywhere. These Pathfast sponsored events are presented by key opinion leaders in the world of healthcare and research, and managed by Whitehat Communications to ensure a professional environment. All programs are free, and offer P.A.C.E.® Continuing Education Credits for up to six months after the live event. Be sure to check back often for new event postings. | ||
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Biomarker Based Community Screening
for Cardiovascular Risk Live Event: Tuesday, September 26, 2023 | 1:00 - 2:00 PM ET PACE® Credit available until March 26, 2024 | Florida Lab Credit available |
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Use of biomarkers, especially cardiac specific troponin and
natriuretic peptides, can be very helpful for population level
screening of communities at high risk of cardiovascular disease.
This webinar will highlight novel approaches to community
outreach and present innovative pathways to high throughput
screening with an emphasis on use of multidimensional data to
target specific neighborhoods. In doing so, this webinar will
address problems related to underdiagnosis of cardiovascular
disease which contribute to premature morbidity and mortality,
and help clinicians/institutions conceptualize approaches to
improve health outcomes in the communities they serve. By
detecting disease early, downstream consequences such as heart
attacks and strokes can be preventing, improving longevity and
enhancing lifespan equality. This webinar will:
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Presenter: Phillip Levy, MD, MPH, FAHA, FACC, FACEP Professor, Emergency Medicine Wayne State University Associate Vice President Translational Sciences and Clinical Research Innovation  Dr. Phillip Levy is the Edward S Thomas endowed Professor in Emergency Medicine at Wayne State University where he serves as Associate Vice President for Translational Sciences and Clinical Research Innovation. Dr. Levy is a Fellow of multiple professional societies including the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), the American Heart Association (AHA), and the American College of Cardiology (ACC). |
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Natriuretic Peptides for the
Diagnosis and Prognosis of Heart Failure Live Event: Wednesday, May 31, 2023 | 1:00 - 2:00 PM ET PACE® Credit available until December 1, 2023 | Florida Lab Credit available |
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Heart Failure (HF) afflicts a great many elderly Americans and
is the compromised ability of the heart to pump sufficient blood
to meet the patient’s physiological demands. This supply-demand
mismatch causes hemodynamic stress, which results in symptoms
including breathlessness, fatigue, shortness of breath when
lying down, swelling in the legs, ankles and feet, rapid or
irregular heartbeat and reduced ability to exercise. HF
diagnosis is important to diagnose and treat to relieve these
symptoms and manage this disease. The hemodynamic stress caused
by HF causes release of the heart hormone B-type natriuretic
peptide (BNP). Detection of BNP’s co-metabolite NT-proBNP is a
very sensitive and reliable biomarker of acute heart failure and
should be available at all acute care medical centers. Interpretation of natriuretic peptides comes with caveats and part of the focus of this webinar will be to gain not just an understanding of the signs and symptoms of HF and the associated diagnostic thresholds for BNP and NT-proBNP, but learn about comorbidities such as renal disease and obesity and how these may impact the levels of natriuretic peptides in the presence or absence of heart failure. This webinar will also focus on understanding other cardiovascular diseases that may influence natriuretic peptide levels and the prognostic implications of an elevated level with and without a diagnosis of heart failure. This webinar will:
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Presenter: Christopher R. deFilippi, MD, FACC Vice-chairman of Academic Affairs Inova Heart and Vascular Institute  Christopher deFilippi is the Vice-chairman of Academic Affairs for the Inova Heart and Vascular Institute. He joined Inova in 2016 and previously had been an Associate professor with the Division of Cardiology at the University of Maryland. He has published over 245 peer reviewed publications most of which have focused on circulating biomarkers. His in a PI on an active R01 and R21 NIH grants also focusing on biomarker and proteomics insights in diuretic choice in heart failure. He runs a core laboratory at Inova working with multiple industry partners, the NIH also having served as a corelab for a large phase III heart failure study. |
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Chest Pain Risk Stratification:
Moving Beyond the HEART Score Live Event: Wednesday, March 29, 2023 | 1:00 - 2:00 PM ET PACE® Credit available until September 29, 2023 | Florida Lab Credit available |
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Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a leading cause of morbidity
and mortality worldwide. Each year, 7-9 million patients with
symptoms of possible ACS present to U.S. emergency departments
(EDs). Many of these patients are hospitalized for in-depth
evaluations, yet <10% are ultimately diagnosed with ACS.
Correctly identifying the few patients with ACS is challenging
and high-stakes for ED providers. ACS patients often have
atypical symptoms, missing ACS is associated with a two-fold
increase in mortality, and missed ACS is the top reason for
malpractice claims against ED physicians. In response, most ED providers have adopted a highly conservative approach and over-test patients with possible ACS. This approach leads to lengthy hospital-based evaluations; prolonging ED stays, exacerbating ED and hospital crowding, and costing over $3 billion annually. In low-risk patients these evaluations are associated with increased iatrogenic risks from false positive testing, radiation exposure, and anxiety without improvement in clinical outcomes. Thus, current ED care patterns for patients with possible ACS are not sustainable from a healthcare quality or economic perspective. This webinar will:
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Presenter: Simon A. Mahler, MD, MS Professor and Vice Chair of Research Department of Emergency Medicine Wake Forest School of Medicine  Dr. Mahler is a Professor and Vice Chair of Research for the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Wake Forest School of Medicine. He completed a Master of Science in Clinical and Population Translational Sciences at Wake Forest University and a T-32 mentored research program in Quality Care and Outcomes Research in Cardiovascular Disease. Dr. Mahler has led several important clinical trials examining care pathways for patients with acute chest pain and is widely recognized as an expert in the risk stratification of Emergency Department patients with possible acute coronary syndrome. |
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Management of Rural Patients with
Cardiovascular Complaints Live Event: Wednesday, February 8, 2023 | 1:00 - 2:00 PM ET PACE® Credit available until August 8, 2023 | Florida Lab Credit available |
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Rural Americans are more likely to be unhealthy, older, living
in poverty, uninsured, and medically underserved compared to
residents of urban communities. These differences lead to higher
cardiovascular death rates and attenuation in the mortality
reduction from medical breakthroughs in rural areas when
compared to urban communities. Mortality differences are
multifactorial, but include increased alcohol and drug use,
smoking, and poor diet as well as joblessness and physical
inactivity. The American Heart Association (AHA) has clearly stated their commitment to reduce health disparities and recently issued a presidential advisory and “Call to Action” for stakeholders to prioritize rural communities in all capacities including research, education, and quality improvement. This webinar will assist you in providing evidence-based care to your rural patients presenting with dypnea and or chest pain. This webinar will:
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Presenter: Jason P. Stopyra, MD, MS Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist  Following graduation from residency Dr. Stopyra entered private practice at a rural community hospital Emergency Department. He also became the county EMS Medical Director and Medical Director of the Health Department. In 2013, he accepted an academic position with Wake Forest University with a concentration in Emergency Medical Services and Cardiovascular research. In 2016 he was named the North Carolina Doctor of the Year. He earned his Masters degree in clinical research in 2019 and looks forward to advancing rural cardiovascular care both in and out of the hospital. |
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Cardiac Biomarker Testing at the
Point of Care: NTproBNP and Cardiac Troponin in the
High-Sensitivity Era Live Event: Tuesday, October 11, 2022 | 1:00 - 2:00 PM ET PACE® Credit available until April 11, 2023 | Florida Lab Credit available |
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Heart disease is the biggest killer in the western world. As
indicated in professional guidelines on myocardial infarction
and heart failure, laboratory medicine plays a pivot role in the
diagnosis, risk assessment and monitoring of heart disease, and
clinicians depend on laboratorians to offer the best assays for
care of patients. This is particularly important with NTproBNP
and high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) assays at both
POC and in the central laboratory. Accurate diagnosis and risk
assessment of heart failure patients allows better management
and can prevent or delay readmission, and improve quality of
life. Earlier and more accurate diagnosis of myocardial infarction can expedite movement of patients into the best care path for their disease, which decreases length of stay in the emergency department and as inpatients. This reduces costs and, most important, improves patient health outcomes the public health services available in the community. This webinar will provide updated information on both NTproBNP and hscTnI oriented to laboratorians. With this information, laboratorians will be more valuable members of the healthcare team, more useful stewards to their organization and better citizens to their institution and community. This webinar will:
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Presenter: Robert H. Christenson, Ph.D., DABCC, FAACC, FACC Professor of Pathology, Medical and Research Technology University of Maryland School of Medicine Medical Director Core Laboratories, Point of Care Services University of Maryland Medical Center  Rob Christenson is Professor of Pathology and Professor of Medical and Research Technology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Christenson has published over 380 peer-reviewed papers, 6 books, 41 textbook chapters and holds 5 patents. Dr. Christenson currently serves on his university’s Medical School Admissions Committee and on University of Maryland’s Appointment, Promotion and Tenure Committee. Clinically, Prof. Christenson is Medical Director of the Core Laboratories and Point-of-Care Testing at the University of Maryland Medical Center. |
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The Evolving Role of Troponin in the
AHA/ACC Chest Pain Guidelines Live Event: Wednesday, August 3, 2022 | 1:00 - 2:00 PM ET PACE® Credit available until February 3, 2023 | Florida Lab Credit available |
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With the advent of high sensitivity troponin, the approach to
evaluation of chest pain patients has evolved significantly, yet
many clinicians remain uncertain about how to best incorporate
relevant, emerging concepts into clinical practice. A lack of understanding regarding emerging approaches to chest pain evaluation contributes to inefficient risk stratification and overutilization of healthcare resources. This webinar will provide a road map for clinicians to understand the landscape surrounding troponin use in the evaluation of chest pain, using the recently published AHA/ACC chest pain guidelines as the basis for evidence and recommendations provided. This webinar will:
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Presenter: Phillip Levy, MD, MPH, FACC, FAHA Professor, Emergency Medicine Wayne State University Associate Vice President Translational Sciences and Clinical Research Innovation Dr. Phillip Levy is the Edward S Thomas endowed Professor in Emergency Medicine at Wayne State University where he serves as Associate Vice President for Translational Sciences and Clinical Research Innovation. Dr. Levy is a Fellow of multiple professional societies including the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), the American Heart Association (AHA), and the American College of Cardiology (ACC). |
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Natriuretic Peptides for the
Diagnosis and Prognosis of Heart Failure Live Event: Tuesday, June 21, 2022 | 1:00 - 2:00 PM ET PACE® Credit available until December 21, 2022 | Florida Lab Credit available |
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Heart Failure (HF) afflicts a great many elderly Americans and
is the compromised ability of the heart to pump sufficient blood
to meet the patient’s physiological demands. This supply-demand
mismatch causes hemodynamic stress, which results in symptoms
including breathlessness, fatigue, shortness of breath when
lying down, swelling in the legs, ankles and feet, rapid or
irregular heartbeat and reduced ability to exercise. HF
diagnosis is important to diagnose and treat to relieve these
symptoms and manage this disease. The hemodynamic stress caused
by HF causes release of the heart hormone B-type natriuretic
peptide (BNP). Detection of BNP’s co-metabolite NT-proBNP is a
very sensitive and reliable biomarker of acute heart failure and
should be available at all acute care medical centers. Interpretation of natriuretic peptides comes with caveats and part of the focus of webinar talk will be to gain not just an understanding of the signs and symptoms of HF and the associated diagnostic thresholds for BNP and NT-proBNP, but learn about comorbidities such as renal disease and obesity and how these may impact the levels of natriuretic peptides in the presence or absence of heart failure. This webinar will also focus on understanding other cardiovascular diseases that may influence natriuretic peptide levels and the prognostic implications of an elevated level with and without a diagnosis of heart failure. This webinar will:
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Presenter: Christopher R. deFilippi, MD, FACC Vice-chairman of Academic Affairs Inova Heart and Vascular Institute Christopher deFilippi is the Vice-chairman of Academic Affairs for the Inova Heart and Vascular Institute. He joined Inova in 2016 and previously had been an Associate professor with the Division of Cardiology at the University of Maryland. He has published over 245 peer reviewed publications most of which have focused on circulating biomarkers. His in a PI on an active R01 and R21 NIH grants also focusing on biomarker and proteomics insights in diuretic choice in heart failure. He runs a core laboratory at Inova working with multiple industry partners, the NIH also having served as a corelab for a large phase III heart failure study. |
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ED Chest Pain Risk Stratification:
Moving Beyond the HEART Score Live Event: Thursday, May 5, 2022 | 1:00 - 2:00 PM ET PACE® Credit available until November 5, 2022 | Florida Lab Credit available |
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Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a
leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Each year,
7-9 million patients with symptoms of possible ACS present to
U.S. emergency departments (EDs). Many of these patients are
hospitalized for in-depth evaluations, yet <10% are ultimately
diagnosed with ACS. Correctly identifying the few patients with
ACS is challenging and high-stakes for ED providers. ACS
patients often have atypical symptoms. Missing ACS is associated
with a two-fold increase in mortality, and missed ACS is the top
reason for malpractice claims against ED physicians. Use of accurate accelerated diagnostic protocols and high sensitivity troponin assays (hs-cTn) can improve the efficiency and quality of care by safely decreasing unnecessary healthcare utilization. The HEART Pathway is a validated care algorithm designed to safely identify patients with acute chest pain for early discharge from the ED without stress testing or coronary angiography. In a randomized clinical trial, the HEART Pathway reduced hospitalizations by 21% and cost by >$200 per patient, without any adverse cardiac events occurring in low-risk patients. This webinar will discuss the diagnostic dilemma of acute chest pain in the ED and how new strategies and pathways have evolved to safely and more efficiently care for patients with chest pain. This webinar will:
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Presenter: Simon A. Mahler, MD, MS Professor and Vice Chair of Research Department of Emergency Medicine Wake Forest School of Medicine Dr. Mahler is a Professor and Vice Chair of Research for the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Wake Forest School of Medicine. He completed a Master of Science in Clinical and Population Translational Sciences at Wake Forest University and a T-32 mentored research program in Quality Care and Outcomes Research in Cardiovascular Disease. Dr. Mahler has led several important clinical trials examining care pathways for patients with acute chest pain and is widely recognized as an expert in the risk stratification of Emergency Department patients with possible acute coronary syndrome. |
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Management of Rural Patients with
Chest Pain Live Event: Wednesday, March 23, 2022 | 1:00 - 2:00 PM ET PACE® Credit available until September 23, 2022 | Florida Lab Credit available |
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Rural Americans are more likely to be unhealthy, older, living
in poverty, uninsured, and medically underserved. These
differences lead to higher cardiovascular death rates and
attenuation in the mortality reduction from medical
breakthroughs in rural areas when compared to urban communities.
Over the past 40 years, the gap in health outcomes among
patients living in rural communities versus urban areas has
widened. Mortality differences are multifactorial, but include
increased alcohol and drug use, smoking, and poor diet as well
as joblessness and physical inactivity. Current statistics
reveal that rural communities are becoming more diverse, which
further adds many race- and ethnic-specific health disparities
to the rural setting. In addition, there is heterogeneity in
socioeconomic status across rural locations and this variability
is not necessarily correlated with population size or distance
from urban areas. Achieving health equity and improving cardiovascular health for rural Americans was one of the CDC’s Healthy People 2020 overarching goals. The American Heart Association (AHA) has clearly stated their commitment to reduce health disparities and recently issued a presidential advisory and “Call to Action” for stakeholders to prioritize rural communities in all capacities including research, education, and quality improvement. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the US, and disproportionately impacts patients in rural areas. Healthcare resources are limited in rural communities. This presentation will assist you in providing evidence based care to your rural patients. This webinar will:
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Presenter: Jason P. Stopyra, MD, MS Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Following graduation from residency Dr. Stopyra entered private practice at a rural community hospital Emergency Department. He also became the county EMS Medical Director and Medical Director of the Health Department. In 2013, he accepted an academic position with Wake Forest University with a concentration in Emergency Medical Services and Cardiovascular research. In 2016 he was named the North Carolina Doctor of the Year. He earned his Masters degree in clinical research in 2019 and looks forward to advancing rural cardiovascular care both in and out of the hospital. |
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Cardiac Biomarkers: Current Status,
Future Promise Live Event: Wednesday, February 23, 2022 | 1:00 - 2:00 PM ET PACE® Credit available until August 23, 2022 | Florida Lab Credit available |
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Heart Disease, including myocardial infarction (MI) and heart
failure (HF), is the biggest killer of both men and women in the
USA and Western world. Making the correct diagnosis in patients
suspected cardiac diseases is critical as these conditions are
life threatening. The standard of care for diagnosis of MI and
HF requires timely availability of cardiac troponin and
NT-proBNP testing so that patients can receive evidence-based
management strategies known to improve outcomes. Diagnosing cardiac disease, including MI and HF, is critical to acute patient management. In the context of MI, cardiac troponin measurements are the cornerstone for acute diagnosis and risk assessment. For diagnosis of acute decompensated heart failure, NT-proBNP has become a standard. This webinar will focus on the characteristics and considerations that are important when selecting cardiac troponin and NT-proBNP assays. Insight into interpretation of cardiac troponin and NT-proBNP assays will also be discussed. And examination of the benefits of point of care testing (POCT) for cardiac troponin and NT-proBNP will be a key part of this presentation. This webinar will:
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Presenter: Robert H. Christenson, Ph.D., DABCC, FACB Professor of Pathology, Medical and Research Technology Maryland School of Medicine  Dr. Christenson is a Professor of Pathology and Professor of Medical and Research Technology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. Clinically, Dr. Christenson is Medical Director of the Core Laboratories and Point of Care Testing at the University of Maryland Medical Center. Dr. Christenson has published over 295 peer-reviewed papers, 6 books, 32 textbook chapters and holds four patents. |
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