Educational courses on this discipline are needed in order to enhance comprehension of clinical risks and benefits of these new agents, particularly in relation to bleeding. They may cause a reduction in ischemic events in comparison to earlier therapies. Specific populations may be at particular risk, and the issue of patient adherence to prescribed therapy continues to be a focus for clinical discussion.

In early 2008, new guidelines for the management of PCI were published by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology. The precise application of evidence-based therapy has the potential to improve the clinical outcomes for patients undergoing PCI and stent implantation, and the education of health care providers represents a continuing clinical need.

CME Accreditation and Designation

The Cardiovascular Research Foundation is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The Cardiovascular Research Foundation designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Documentation of awarded credit is provided for registered attendees in exchange for completed activity evaluations. Certificates of attendance are provided to all registered attendees.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this symposium, participants should be able to:

• Explain current available data limitations concerning the duration of antiplatelet therapy in different clinical syndromes
• Identify the differences among oral antiplatelet medications and contrast the theoretical risks and benefits of reversible and irreversible long-term P2Y₁₂ inhibition
• Discuss data pertaining to the pharmacodynamics of different loading doses of antiplatelet therapy and the clinical implications of those data
• Analyze the differences in antiplatelet agents to guide the selection of the most appropriate therapy for each individual patient
• Describe the risk-benefit relationship between bleeding and ischemic events, both in and out of hospital

Target Audience

This conference is designed for interventional cardiologists, clinical cardiologists, and other health care professionals involved in the management of patients with acute coronary syndromes.

Activity Evaluation

Evaluation by questionnaire will address content, presentation, possible bias, and future educational needs.

Disclosure Statement

It is the policy of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation to ensure balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all of its sponsored educational programs. Commercial support from industry does not influence educational content, faculty selection, and/or faculty presentations, and, therefore, does not compromise the scientific integrity of the educational activity.

Discussion of off-label product usage and/or off-label product use during live cases is made at the sole discretion of the faculty. Off-label product discussion and/or off-label product use is not endorsed by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation or the conference directors for this activity.

Faculty participating in continuing medical education activities sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation are required to disclose to the program audience any real or apparent conflict of interest related to the content of their presentation(s). Faculty not complying with this policy are not permitted to participate in this activity.

Program Sponsorship and Support

This activity is sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation and is supported by an independent medical education grant from the Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi Pharmaceuticals partnership.