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Duke Announces Advanced Transradial Angioplasty Training Course

Sunil V. Rao, MD
Mitchell W. Krucoff, MD
Mauricio Cohen, MD
Sunil V. Rao, MD and Mitchell W. Krucoff, MD of
Duke University Medical
Center and Mauricio Cohen,
MD of University of Miami
Miller School of Medicine
   

March 22, 2011 -- This October, the Duke Clinical Research Institute, in conjunction with the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI), will present the "Duke Advanced Course in Transradial Angiography and Intervention", one of the first advanced courses in this new and growing technique to be offered in the United States. Dr. Sunil V. Rao, one of the key researchers of access site bleeding complications resulting from angioplasty and stent placement, has been a vocal proponent of the transradial (wrist) approach to angioplasty, which minimizes or eliminates these complications. Now Dr. Rao and his colleague, Dr. Mitchell W. Krucoff, have teamed with Dr. Mauricio Cohen of the University of Miami to offer a comprehensive and intensive two-day CME training course in the transradial approach for clinical and interventional cardiologists, as well as physicians and technicians involved in the care of patients.

The objective of the program is to provide cardiologists, cardiology fellows, nurses, and cath lab technologists the opportunity to learn about advanced use of the transradial approach to diagnostic catheterization and coronary and interventional procedures. A faculty of leading international experts, such as Drs. Olivier Betrand, Tejas Patel, Samir Pancholy, David Kandzari, Tift Mann, Chris Pyne, Ian Gilchrist, Shigeru Saito, Ron Caputo and more, will incorporate didactic, case-based and live presentations to provide the latest information on the benefits of transradial PCI.

The two-day course will be held on October 20-21, 2011 at the Embassy Suites in Cary, North Carolina. Dr. Rao told Angioplasty.Org, "This is the first advanced radial course in the US and we are very excited about it."

The overall goal of the activities is to enhance learners’ knowledge and their competency to incorporate evidence-based updates in their practice. At the conclusion of this activity, participants should be able to:

  1. Identify appropriate patient selection for the radial approach to PCI with a focus on Allen’s testing and prior coronary bypass surgery.
  2. Describe pharmacological options to treat arterial spasm during PCI via the radial artery and pharmacological options for protection from thrombotic complications during PCI.
  3. Describe technical aspects of PCI via the radial approach including reviewing guide catheter options, catheter manipulation, and treatment of complex lesions.
  4. Describe methods for dealing with challenging vascular anatomy in the forearm and chest.
The primary target audience for this activity is interventional and clinical cardiologists, including invited thought leaders from leading teaching and research centers. The secondary target audience is other physicians and technicians involved in the care of cardiac patients.

The Duke University School of Medicine designates this educational activity for a maximum of 8.5 AMA PRA Category 1 credit(s)™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

More information can be found on the course web site at https://www.dcri.org/education-training/meetings/transradial-master-course where you will be able to register online.

A PDF of the preliminary program brochure can be found at https://www.dcri.org/education-training/meetings/meeting-brochures/DukeTransradial2011_PrelimAgenda.pdf.

For more information, contact Wendy Sprintz of the Duke Clinical Research Institute ( DCRI) at (877) 707-2904, or email her at wendy.sprintz@duke.edu

About The Radial Access Center on Angioplasty.Org
To assist in educating the professional and patient population in the U.S. about the this technique, Angioplasty.Org created the "Radial Access Center for Transradial Approach" in 2007, a special section devoted to information and news about the transradial technique, for both patients and physicians. The Radial Center features interviews with leading practitioners of the radial technique, such as Drs. Jeffrey Popma, Sunil Rao, Mauricio Cohen, John Coppola, Shigeru Saito and Jennifer Tremmel. The section also maintains a listing of upcoming training courses in the transradial approach.

For patients there is also a "Hospital Locator" that lists U.S. centers practicing radial angiography. As Dr. Howard Cohen of Lenox Hill Hospital in New York says of the wrist technique, "Patients really prefer it. 95% of people who've had it both ways would say 'I'm coming back to you, Dr. Cohen because I like this transradial a lot better than the other way!'

Reported by Burt Cohen, March 22, 2010