I was fortunate to attend the Forth Valley Advanced Echo course held in Edinburgh in 2024. This is a long-running and highly subscribed course with faculty from the British Society of Echocardiography, the Scottish Cardiac Society, and from the Mayo Clinic in the US. The presentations were extremely interactive, using a case-based format with plenty of opportunities for audience interaction and networking.

The sessions over the two days of the course covered the latest guidelines on assessing right heart function, valvular lesions, structural/congenital lesions, as well as a case-based session on post-operative adult congenital cases. The interactive cases presented at the end of the course were particularly useful in solidifying the learning around the advances in current guidance on pulmonary hypertension and diastolic function.

Key reviews included advances in measurement of diastolic parameters in AF using index beat methods, clues to identifying underlying primary vs secondary aetiology for valvular lesions and assessing suitability for TAVI/TEER. Discussion of assessment of discordant parameters of aortic stenosis severity and assessment of types and haemodynamic impact of ASD, VSD, and PFOs were illuminating.

Overall, this course was an excellent review of current advances in imaging and investigation of various cardiac pathologies with a focus on echocardiographic hallmark features and current minimum datasets and I would highly recommend it to anyone.

I was absolutely delighted to attend The British Cardiovascular Intervention Society (BCIS) Annual meeting held at Hilton Metropol London, between 31st Jan and 02nd Feb 2024. BCIS is at the forefront of promoting interventional training, education and cardiovascular research. It has a long history of grooming new interventional cardiologists and organise fruitful sessions for interventional trainees where they learn from their seniors and peers.

For me, the highlight of the meeting was the live case from John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford of a transcatheter edge to edge repair (TEER) of mitral valve prolapse. I have a keen interest in structural intervention and found the session particularly interesting as this was the first time I had ever seen a TEER procedure. Moreover, the discussion about positive results of drug eluting balloon (DEB) treatments and seeing live cases from Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital whether they treated complex lesions with DEB was particularly interesting, as it different from my personal practice when treating such lesion. This opened a completely new horizon for me. The live cases from Imperial College London and Leeds General Hospital were also very insightful regarding practices of different operators in treating complex lesions.

The meeting also included angio review and complication sessions. They were particularly fruitful as one learns from such cases and can deal with them with more confidence if ever encountered. Sessions regarding important trials of 2023, including BHF Protect TAVI, BCIS3 and Selutions, increased my knowledge about advancements in interventional research. Of these, BHF Protect TAVI would be particularly interesting to see once recruitment is completed. Moreover, the National Audit Report about percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) centres and volume was a great insight into the intervention services, particularly primary PCI services, that are offered across the country.

I also had the opportunity to interact with the industry representatives who are offering cutting edge innovations and advancements, particularly in the field of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAV) procedures. This allowed me to explore different options regarding my post CCT fellowships and I would be able to target centres which are high volume and good quality in structural intervention.

I also attended lectures from world renowned speakers in the field of coronary intervention, structural intervention, and imaging. The keynote lecture, however, of renowned comedian and retired GP, Phil Hammond, took me back in time to my foundation year training and I particularly enjoyed his take on how the medical practice has evolved over the last three to four decades.

I am very grateful to the Emily Taylor travel fund for their support which allowed me to attend this conference. I intend to attend ACI again next year to continue on my journey of achieving excellence in the field of coronary and structural intervention.

I was delighted to attend the EACVI multi-modality conference in Barcelona this month. This was a conference which covered all aspects of cardiac imaging under one roof. There were a wide variety of learning opportunities from conventional lectures, case presentations, hands on learning and case reviews for all imaging modalities. I especially enjoyed the hands on session of joining echo with CT via EchoPACS and being able to look at pathology using both imaging modalities at the same time. It was also amazing to see cases from all around the world, not just Europe, with lots of amazing images included. For me personally, this was not just useful for CPD but for maintaining my accreditation in Echo and Cardiac CT. I would like to thank the Society for their support in allowing me to attend this conference. It was extremely educational and I would highly recommend it to anyone considering attending in future years. 

Between 18-20 of January 2022, I was honoured to attend the The British Cardiovascular Intervention Society (BCIS) annual meeting in London. BCIS promotes education, training and research in cardiovascular intervention as well as the development and upholding of both clinical and professional standards.

The meeting involved live cases, angio review cases, complication session and the latest update on the field of interventional cardiology and large multidisciplinary team discussion on areas of great interest to the wider cardiology community. Moreover, I had the opportunity to get an insight in the National Audit Report and innovation in intervention

Trial Spotlights I had the opportunity to meet and interact with experts on the field and attended key-note speeches on hot topics. Moreover, I was able to discuss future fellowships opportunities with various interventional leads.

I also attended many of the lectures from some of the world’s experts in multiple sub-specialties of cardiology. I was able to witness first hand, the final conclusions of some amazing late-breaking trials. These included the recent results of REVIVED trial as well as the effort to run the CHIP-3 study. Attending this meeting will allow me to provide better care to patients I see every day who attend our cath lab for coronary intervention. I was able to further establish links with members of the interventional cardiology community throughout the UK. I will be looking forward in attending again next year.

I am extremely grateful to the Emily Taylor travel fund for their kind support in allowing me to attend this conference and gain valuable experience in my subspecialty.

I was honoured to attend Cardiovascular Clinical Trials (CVCT) Forum as Future Young Triallist. CVCT meetings are held annually in Washington (USA) and bring together researchers, clinicians, industry representatives, and other stakeholders involved in cardiovascular research and clinical trials. The sessions feature presentations, panel discussions, workshops, and other educational and interactive sessions on topics such as trial design, patient recruitment, ethical considerations, regulatory requirements, data management, statistical analysis, and reporting of results in the context of cardiovascular clinical research. The forum provides a platform for the exchange of knowledge, discussion of recent advancements, presentation of research findings, and exploration of challenges and opportunities in cardiovascular clinical trial design, conduct, analysis, and interpretation as well as networking opportunities for professionals in the field to establish collaborations and share best practices.

In 2022 I had the honour to be nominated for the Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Early Career Investigator Award where I presented my PhD project: ‘Insulin Resistance in Type 2 Diabetes is Moderated by Saturated Fatty Acids’. This meant travelling to the United States of America for the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2022 which took place from 5-7.11.2022 in Chicago, Illinois. This would have not been possible without the support of the Emily Taylor Travel Grant.

The AHA congress was also a great opportunity for me to network, connect with peers and meet key opinion leaders from around the globe, learn from world-renowned cardiology experts from all over the world and get a front-row seat to the latest breakthroughs in clinical science that are revolutionizing clinical practice and patient care around the world.

By attending the scientific sessions, I was able to gain valuable insights from leading innovators as they showcased the latest innovations shaping the future of medical technology.

I am very grateful for the ongoing help and support the Scottish Cardiac Society has given me over the years.

Kind regards,

Dr Alice Mezincescu DM, MRCP, PhD

On the 1^st of April 2022 I was fortunate enough to attend the American College of Cardiology annual meeting in Washington DC to present my research on risk stratification in type 2 myocardial infarction.  

The meeting involved large multidisciplinary gathering of experts in the field of cardiology and industry. The conference had over 10,000 attendees spanning over 3 days. I presented my research to numerous other teams who have expertise in my field and gained some invaluable advice and critique on improving my project. I was able to discuss future collaborations with teams in this area and gained some key insights that I otherwise would not have had the opportunity. Attendance at this conference promoted some of the invaluable research that is conducted in Edinburgh and more importantly how we can try to improve outcomes for patients with type 2 myocardial infarction.

I also attended many of the key-note speeches from some of the world’s experts in multiple sub-specialties of cardiology. I was able to witness first hand, the final conclusions of some amazing late-breaking trials. These included the testing of some important new drugs for patients with cardiomyopathies. This was invaluable not only for my research but also my clinical knowledge and career.

Over the pandemic in person meetings have been extremely hard to attend. I think meeting other research teams face to face has boosted morale, confidence, and drive to conduct further collaborative research. My PhD in cardiovascular sciences is comprised of three main projects that all involve an international cooperation with many different research teams. Throughout this experience I was able to meet quite a few of these which has bolstered collaboration and my own ability to promote my research and network at an international level.

Despite funding from the British Heart Foundation, I would not have had enough funds to attend this meeting, so I am extremely grateful to the Emily Taylor travel fund for their kind support in allowing me to participate and gain valuable experience.

I would like to thank Scottish Cardiac Society for supporting my attendance at Postgraduate Course in Heart Failure Management. This course was designed by key stakeholders, leading researchers and clinicians with expertise in management of heart failure in response to unmet educational needs as outlined in European Society of Cardiology Heart Failure Association curriculum. The course is endorsed by British Society for Heart Failure and British Cardiovascular Society, and recently received accreditation by European Society of Cardiology Heart Failure Association.

The postgraduate course in heart failure consisted of a 2-year programme with 6 modules (3.5 days each), covering all aspects of heart failure including pharmacotherapy, devices, sessions with real-time streaming of invasive procedures (e.g. device implantation), as well as practical sessions on device programming, imaging modalities and new technologies. Each module was chaired by internationally recognised experts who facilitated interactive discussions. All participants were selected through competitive process and had to successfully participate in the course, pass exam after each module and present clinical case.

This was an excellent course which provided me the opportunity to learn from world leading experts and network with colleagues from across the world. It equipped me with a range of new skills and knowledge, as well as experience of treatments which are not currently routinely available to patients in UK. I also had opportunity to discuss my PhD project with like-minded “diuretic enthusiasts” including world leading experts on management of congestion in patients with heart failure who published multiple seminal papers on acute heart failure and randomised clinical trials in patients with heart failure.

Overall, this course was extremely beneficial for my learning, both in terms of my current research interest as well as future avenues for my work. Without the Scottish Cardiac Society Support, the cost of attending all 6 sessions would have been excessive. I greatly appreciate both the educational experience and the opportunity to network and establish new collaboration links between our research group in Glasgow and other world leading research centres.

In September 2020, I was very fortunate to attend a five-day CT Coronary Angiography (CTCA) course held in Edinburgh between 14-18 September 2020, kindly supported by the Emily Taylor Travel Grant from the Scottish Cardiac Society. The meeting was attended by an international and multidisciplinary audience from both cardiology and radiology backgrounds. The attendees comprised medical practitioners of varying grades, including consultants and registrars like myself.

This was a comprehensive course that covered lectures on the background and theory behind CTCA, as well as vital experience in hands-on interpretation of CTCA images. Lectures were delivered by world-renowned speakers in the field, including Professor van Beek and Professor Newby. It was an honour to hear first-hand these educational talks, which included valuable insights surrounding the challenges/ limitations of CTCA and how our national services were expanded.

Each participant was allocated a personal workstation to allow analysis of example cases. The course programme included 150 anonymised cases from real patients. This course perfectly complemented my experience in interventional cardiology. The experience and knowledge gained during this course has not only helped me achieve the CTCA competency required as part of the core cardiology training curriculum, but also serves as a strong head start for pursuing CTCA reporting as a future career.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this course and gained much experience in CTCA reporting. The next step is to complete the required practical logbook for accreditation. In learning CTCA, I hope that the 3-dimensional information gained regarding atherosclerotic plaque will help to enhance my care for patients with coronary artery disease.

With a limited study budget and a steep course fee, it would have been much more difficult to attend without the kind support of the society. The accommodation support for staying on-site was particularly welcome given the long daily hours and intensity of the course. I am extremely grateful to the Scottish Cardiac Society and Emily Taylor Travel Fund for the support.

I am extremely grateful to the Scottish Cardiac Society Emily Taylor Travel Endowment for the travel grant I was awarded in January 2020.  I attended University of Leeds for a week at end of January for the first module in the Post Graduate Certificate in Cardiac Device and Rhythm management course.  The first module was Bradycardia Device and Rhythm Management. 

Having been appointed as Arrhythmia Nurse Specialist, this course enabled me to consolidate my prior knowledge of cardiac rhythm management (CRM) and explore areas where my knowledge was lacking, particularly current guidelines and research in this area.

One of the most rewarding aspects of the week spent in Leeds was meeting colleagues from other centres in the UK, exploring how practice differs.  The majority of the course attendees were cardiac physiologists with one other arrhythmia nurse in the group.  Peer learning was invaluable and I have gained a network of specialist cardiac physiologists for advice and with whom to share good practice. 

I undertook an assignment in the form of a journal article.  This gave me the opportunity to carry out in depth literature review on the detrimental effects of RV pacing and indications for CRT implantation. 

Unfortunately due to the pandemic the second face to face week scheduled for June 2020 on Tachycardia Device and Rhythm Management was postponed and took place week of 19^th October virtually.  This has again given me insight into procedures carried out in the electrophysiology cath lab which will be invaluable to my interaction and care of this patient group.  I will again be undertaking an assignment based on a tachycardiac related diagnosis and treatment. 

I have found the support given by lecturers, peers and library staff invaluable.  This has undoubtedly increased my confidence and skill in carrying out literature searches and accessing up to date research in this area.  Critically appraising literature is an important skill and being able to undertake this module at Leeds has augmented my clinical practice underpinned by a sound research base.