The Fourth Annual Western Atrial Fibrillation Symposium: Interview With Nassir F. Marrouche, MD

The upcoming Western Atrial Fibrillation Symposium will take place February 25-26, 2011, at the Park City Marriott in Park City, Utah. In this interview we speak with Symposium Director Dr. Nassir F. Marrouche.

What new features will be highlighted at the fourth annual Western Atrial Fibrillation Symposium? What changes were made to the 2011 program? The symposium will again feature the most current updates on the major atrial fibrillation (AF) research studies and clinical trials, including the ATHENA trial, the CASTLE-AF trial and DECAAF. We’ve also expanded the scope of the presentations and have added faculty with expertise in diverse areas. For example, Mellanie True Hills, the founder of StopAfib.org and an atrial fibrillation survivor, will share her insights on the disease from the patient’s perspective. Another presentation will cover the practical considerations for building an AF clinic, from selecting the nursing staff to software solutions.

Why should people attend this meeting? This is the best and most comprehensive education meeting focused exclusively on atrial fibrillation, and addresses the disease from multiple perspectives. The symposium brings together cardiologists, internal medicine physicians, family practice physicians, nurse practitioners, AF patient advocates, residents, students, and others who are interested in the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of patients with atrial fibrillation. Symposium attendees will learn about:

• The mechanisms of atrial fibrillation.

• The relationship between AF and heart failure.

• How to define appropriate treatment options for each atrial fibrillation patient.

• Current best practices, new treatment options and the latest scientific advances.

This event also gives both the faculty and attendees many opportunities to interact and converse, which sparks collaboration, innovative ideas and new projects.

To what do you attribute the success of this meeting? First and foremost, the faculty is of exceptionally high caliber and their presentations feature the latest thinking on virtually all aspects of atrial fibrillation. Another factor contributing to its success has been a growing awareness of the importance of atrial fibrillation, particularly its role in causing strokes. The medical community is also increasingly excited to learn about advances in technology such as delayed enhancement cardiac MRI (DE-MRI), which is being used for non-invasive scar assessment in the left atrium as the means to stage the progression of AF based on the amount of pre-ablation fibrosis.

What are some of the most exciting advances today in the treatment of atrial fibrillation? At the risk of sounding immodest, some of our work with DE-MRI at the CARMA Center has the potential to be the basis for a new model for diagnosing, treating and managing atrial fibrillation. The University of Utah’s Determinant of Successful Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation (DECAAF) multi-site international study — which includes the Mayo Clinic, the Cleveland Clinic and universities in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Australia — is now enrolling patients and collecting data that will further expand our experience with DE-MRI image acquisition and its applications in the management of AF. Its key objective is to establish the use of DE-MRI to stage AF and predict outcomes prior to AF ablation procedures.

Tell us about the extensive faculty presenting at this year’s meeting. The symposium has more than 40 faculty participants from eight countries and 20 renowned clinical/research centers across the United States. One of the considerations in putting the faculty together was selecting individuals who had opposing viewpoints to encourage lively debates and discussions. As I mentioned earlier, for the first time the faculty also includes someone representing the patients, Mellanie True Hills of StopAfib.org.

Will research from the CARMA Center be showcased at the Western AF Symposium? What types of clinical trials are being done at the CARMA Center? Yes, physicians and researchers from the CARMA Center as well as the University of Utah will be making presentations and participating on panels. Some of the topics they will cover include:

• DE-MRI Based Detection of Ablation Lesions: Defining Ablation Strategy and Monitoring Therapy

• Structural Remodeling and Need for Permanent Pacemakers in AF Patient

• Atrial Fibrillation to Hypertension

• Stem Cells, Heart Failure and Atrial Fibrillation

• Are MRI Scanners Ready for EP Applications?

• How to Make MRI Images Useful

In addition to the aforementioned DECAAF clinical trial, the CARMA Center is involved in the CASTLE-AF study and other clinical trials regarding antiarrhythmic drug (AAD) therapy, drug studies on recent FDA approved AADs, and genetic/familial inheritance patterns of fibrosis.

What CME opportunities are available at this meeting? The symposium is CME accredited for a maximum of 11.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits.

Is there anything else you’d like to add? I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the meeting’s spectacular venue, Park City, Utah, which hosted the 2002 Winter Olympic Games at its three world-class ski resorts. One of the highlights for all attendees is Saturday’s Symposium Bash at the beautifully designed High West Distillery, which features a viewable in-house distillery and a hands-on tour of the whiskey making process.

Dr. Nassir F. Marrouche is the Executive Director of the Comprehensive Arrhythmia Research & Management Center (CARMA) and Director of the Cardiac Electrophysiology Laboratories and the Atrial Fibrillation Program at the University of Utah School of Medicine. Dr. Marrouche has devoted his career to finding a cure for atrial fibrillation (AF) and is best known for his groundbreaking research on the use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to diagnose, treat and personalize the management of AF. The team he leads at the CARMA Center are the first researchers in the world to use MRI to refine techniques for catheter ablation.