AHA FIT Newsletter

By Heajung Nguyen, MD, University of California at Los Angeles & Anum Saeed, MD, University of Pittsburgh

This year's AHA Scientific Sessions (#AHA19) in Philadelphia marked the second exciting year of the Early Career (EC) / Fellow-in-Training (FIT) lounge, a special initiative of the AHA leadership. Designed specifically for  trainees by  trainees, the FIT/EC lounge yet again featured numerous interactive sessions covering a wide range of high-yield topics that kept FITs engaged and inspired.

After the resounding success of the FIT lounge in #AHA18, further improvement and innovations in programming were made utilizing attendee feedback. This year's FIT programming totaled nearly 16 hours, encompassing a broad range of topics on career development and advancement in several new highlighted subspecialties. In addition to the traditional career choices in cardiovascular diseases, a new section on unique career paths in stroke and vascular neurology, cardiac critical care, and pediatric cardiology were also featured. Leaders in respective fields also offered invaluable pearls of wisdom and guidance for those interested in pursuing subspecialty training in electrophysiology, advanced heart failure, interventional cardiology, and advanced imaging.

FIT/EC Lounge attendees were also given a special address by the AHA President Dr. Robert Harrington, who emphasized the distinctive role of the trainees as the leaders of tomorrow within the AHA. Another highly anticipated and well-attended session this year was focused on wellness, highlighting the importance of achieving a healthy work-life balance and providing attendees with many actionable tips. FITs also engaged in many meaningful discussions with faculty panelists, covering topics including achieving success as women in cardiology, cultivating successful mentorships, and navigating a smooth transition from fellow-to-faculty. On the final day, researchers and scientific writing experts provided fantastic tools and strategies to successfully incorporate impactful research endeavors through the demands of a rigorous training schedule.

All in all, this year's sessions were jam-packed with valuable content for trainees of all levels and junior faculty alike. We are incredibly thankful to our faculty panelists who took the time to share their experiences and impart such valuable insights to all the attendees.

Please visit the AHA FIT home page to learn more about the complementary AHA FIT program and email us if there are ways in which AHA Scientific Sessions can better serve you. Your feedback is always welcome and appreciated, and will help us improve future programming. We look forward to seeing you next year at #AHA20 in Dallas, TX!

AHA was full of late-breaking clinical trials that may change the way you think about caring for your patients and inspire next steps for designing your own research studies. Your fellow FITs have shared key information and insights from the science shared at Sessions. Please click on the links below to find their summaries, or you can find them all at Science News home page for Scientific Sessions 2019.

ISCHEMIA: International Study of Comparative Health Effectiveness with Medical and Invasive Approaches: Primary Report of Clinical Outcomes. Summarized by: Yuvraj Singh Chowdhury, MD | Reviewed by: Manesh Patel, MD

ISCHEMIA-CKD: International Study of Comparative Health Effectiveness with Medical and Invasive Approaches in Chronic Kidney Disease (ISCHEMIA-CKD): Primary Results of Clinical Outcomes. Summarized by: Mohsin Chowdhury, MD | Reviewed by: Larry Allen, MD, MHS

DAPA-HF: Dapagliflozin and Prevention of Adverse-Outcomes in Heart Failure Trial (DAPA-HF): Results in Nondiabetic Patients. Summarized by: Mrinali Shetty, MD | Reviewed by: Larry Allen, MD, MHS

BETonMACE: Effect of BET Protein Inhibition with Apabetalone on Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome and Diabetes. Summarized by: Pradyumna Agasthi, MD | Reviewed by: Larry Allen, MD, MHS

COLCOT: The Colchicine Cardiovascular Outcomes Trial in Coronary Disease. Summarized by: Mohammad-Ali Jazayeri, MD | Reviewed by: Larry Allen, MD, MHS

ORION-10: Phase 3 Trial Results: Safety and Efficacy of Inclisiran in Patients with ASCVD and Elevated LDL Cholesterol. Summarized by: Mohsin Chowdhury, MD | Reviewed by: James de Lemos, MD

GALILEO: Primary results: Global Comparison of a Rivaroxaban-based Antithrombotic Strategy Versus an Antiplatelet-based Strategy after Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement to Optimize Clinical Outcomes. Summarized by: Yuvraj Singh Chowdhury, MD | Reviewed by: Manesh Patel, MD

RECOVERY: Early Surgery versus Conventional Management for Asymptomatic Severe Aortic Stenosis. Summarized by: Pradyumna Agasthi, MD | Reviewed by: Manesh Patel, MD

COLCHICINE-PCI: Peri-procedural Colchicine in Percutaneous Coronary Intervention. Summarized by: Mohammad-Ali Jazayeri, MD | Reviewed by: James de Lemos, MD

ORION-9: Safety and Efficacy of Inclisiran in Patients with Heterozygous Familial Hypercholesterolemia. Summarized by: Mrinali Shetty, MD | Reviewed by: James de Lemos, MD

Treat Stroke to Target: Benefit of a Target LDL Cholesterol Less than 70 mg/dl After Ischemic Stroke due to Atherosclerosis. Summarized by: Mohammad-Ali Jazayeri, MD | Reviewed by: James de Lemos, MD

By Amna Sohail, MD
Assistant Professor Neurology, Creighton School of Medicine

During the start of my fellowship, one of my mentors informed me about a junior reviewer training offered by Stroke, one of the AHA journals. As a medical student and resident, I had first-hand experience of the research process, including manuscript preparation and submission. In particular, the submission process could include multiple revisions, so this reviewer opportunity seemed like a great way to get exposure to the other side. How does the reviewer think? How can we make the quality of research and evidence better?

The 6-12 month junior reviewer trainee program is truly an enlightening experience in every way. This process increased my knowledge about the research topics, taught me how to critically look at different study designs and how to make sense of different statistic modalities, as well as how to extrapolate and generalize the data to different populations. The feedback from the editor and senior reviewers on my personal review assignments helped me immensely to identify the key points when constructing study objectives and methods. In addition, their suggestions helped me to polish my skills in abstract and manuscript construction and presentation.

All in all, I feel well equipped to skim through the plethora of publications and identify what evidence can help my patients, through critical appraisal of the literature. I feel comfortable identifying designs, objectives and methods appropriate for my research. Now when writing my own papers, I keep in mind the points brought up by reviewers to articulate the results of research in a manner which is accurate, precise, easy to interpret, without bias and with information that answers the readers inherent questions. I would highly recommend health professionals to get this wonderful experience, and to start early as an AHA FIT, as it often will open up options to continue as a senior reviewer.

The AHA journal trainee reviewer program, available for Circ: CQ, Circ: EP, and Stroke, typically requires a 6-12 month commitment. Once a trainee has completed a set number of successful supervised manuscript reviews, they often have the option to graduate to a senior reviewer position. For those interested, please reach out to us at [email protected].