This December, the first annual Western Atrial Fibrillation Symposium will be held. In this article, author Michael Huntsman provides all the information you need about this featured event.

       The University of Utah Division of Cardiology is proud to announce the upcoming Western Atrial Fibrillation Symposium. The purpose of this Symposium is to bring together electrophysiologists, cardiologists, family practice physicians, internal medicine physicians, nurse practitioners, residents, students, and all those interested in the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) to learn about the diagnosis, care, and new advances in the treatment of this common and complex arrhythmia. This year’s meeting will take place December 13 and 14 in Park City, Utah.

Program:

- Thursday, December 13, 2007 7:00 am: Registration and Continental Breakfast 8:00: Welcome Nassir F. Marrouche, MD and Mohamed H. Hamdan, MD Pathophysiology Chair: Melvin M. Scheinman, MD 8:20: Role of the ANS Chen Peng-Sheng, MD 8:40: Trigger vs. Substrate Hakan Oral, MD 9:00: Electrical Remodeling in Atrial Fibrillation Randy Lee, MD 9:20: Scarring, Ischemia and Beyond Maurits A. Allessie, MD, PhD 9:40–10:00: Break Atrial Fibrillation Management in Patients with Normal Hearts Chair: Mohamed H. Hamdan, MD 10:00: Drug Therapy Richard L. Page, MD 10:20: Ablate and Pace Stefan H. Hohnloser, MD 10:40: Rhythm vs. Rate Control Albert L. Waldo, MD 11:00: The Role of Open Heart Surgery Michael Argenziano, MD 11:20–1:00 pm: Lunch Atrial Fibrillation Management in Patients with Heart Failure Chair: Michelino Brignole, MD 1:00: Prognostic Effect of Atrial Fibrillation in Heart Failure Gary Francis, MD 1:20: Mechanisms of Detrimental Effect Mohamed H. Hamdan, MD 1:40: Role of CRT in Atrial Fibrillation Patients Leslie A. Saxon, MD 2:00: Future Trials: CASTLE-AF and AVERT-AF Johannes Brachmann, MD 2:20–2:40: Break Anticoagulation in Atrial Fibrillation Chair: Richard Klein, MD 2:40: Which Patient Should be Anticoagulated? John P. DiMarco, MD 3:00: Clot Detection: Preferred Method? James D. Thomas, MD 3:20: Pre/Post Ablation Anticoagulation Management David Callans, MD 3:40: New Anticoagulation Drugs Luc Jordeans, MD 4:00: Adjourn Friday, December 14, 2007 7:00 am: Registration and Continental Breakfast 8:00: Welcome Nassir F. Marrouche, MD and Mohamed H. Hamdan, MD Ablation in AF Chair: Nassir F. Marrouche, MD 8:20: Past, Present and Future Fred Morady, MD 8:40: Targeting Ganglionic Plexi Hiroshi Nakagawa, MD, PhD 9:00: Role of CFAE Koonlawee Nademanee, MD 9:20: Role of Stereotaxis in AF Ablation Karl-Heinz Kuck, MD 9:40: HRS Consensus Document on AF Ablation: Implications for Patient Care and Clinical Investigation Hugh Calkins, MD 10:00: The Challenges of the CABANA Trial Douglas L. Packer, MD 10:20–10:40: Break Future Directions Chair: Mohamed H. Hamdan, MD 10:40: Interventional MR — How Close Are We to Real Time? Dennis L. Parker, MD 11:00: Image Processing to Facilitate AF Treatment Rob Mcleod, MD, PhD 11:20: Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Management of AF Nassir F. Marrouche, MD 11:40 am–1:00 pm: Lunch 1:00–4:00: Bring Your Atrial Fibrillation Patient to the Symposium and Discuss With the Experts: Moderator: Nassir F. Marrouche, MD Faculty: Johannes Brachmann, MD, David J. Callans, MD, Mohamed H. Hamdan, MD, Yoshito Iesaka, MD, Karl-Heinz Kuck, MD, James McClelland, MD, Fred Morady, MD, Richard L. Page, MD 4:00: Adjourn 6:30: Conference Reception: Spur Bar & Grill, Historic Park City Main Street

Educational Objectives
       At the end of the program, participants of the Western Atrial Fibrillation Symposium should be able to:
• Explain the mechanisms of atrial fibrillation
• Recognize the relationship between atrial fibrillation and heart failure
• Define appropriate treatment for each AF patient
• Adopt new treatment options to cure atrial fibrillation

Location
       The Western Atrial Fibrillation Symposium will take place at the Grand Summit Hotel at the Canyons Ski Resort in Park City, Utah. The Canyons Ski Resort was home to many events during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. Located just 4 miles from historic Park City Main Street, The Canyons is the closest Park City ski resort to the Salt Lake City International airport, yet close enough to enjoy all the nightlife, dining and shopping that the town of Park City has to offer. Over 100 bars and restaurants are just minutes away as well as all the other activities you should expect from a world-class four-season resort town. The century-old mining town of Park City will capture you as it did the rest of the world during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.

Course Directors and Faculty
       The Symposium Program co-chairs are Nassir F. Marrouche, MD and Mohamed H. Hamdan, MD. Dr. Marrouche is the Director of the Cardiac Electrophysiology Laboratories and Director of the Atrial Fibrillation Program at the University of Utah Division of Cardiology. Dr. Hamdan is the Director of Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology and Associate Chief of the Division of Cardiology at the University of Utah.
Faculty of the Western Atrial Fibrillation Symposium will include: Maurits A. Allessie, MD, PhD from Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, Michael Argenziano, MD from Columbia University, Johannes Brachmann, MD from Hospital Klinikum Coburg, Michelino Brignole, MD from Vitatron Medical Italia, David J. Callans, MD from Hospital of The University of Pennsylvania, Hugh Calkins, MD from Johns Hopkins Hospital, John P. DiMarco, MD, PhD from the University of Virginia Health System, Gary Francis, MD from The Cleveland Clinic, Stefan H. Hohnloser, MD from Asklepios Klinik, Yoshito Iesaka, MD, PhD from Tsuchiura Kyodo Hospital in Japan, Luc Jordeans, MD from Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands, Richard C. Klein, MD from the University of Utah Division of Cardiology, Karl-Heinz Kuck, MD from Asklepios Klinik St. George, Randy Lee, MD from UCSF, James McClelland, MD from the Oregon Heart and Vascular Institute, Rob Mcleod, MD, PhD from the University of Utah Health Sciences Center, Fred Morady, MD from the University of Michigan Medical Center, Koonlawee Nademanee, MD from Pacific Rim Electrophysiology Research, Hiroshi Nakagawa, MD, PhD from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Hakan Oral, MD, FACC from the University of Michigan, Douglas L. Packer, MD from the Mayo Clinic, Richard L. Page, MD from the University of Washington School of Medicine, Dennis L. Parker, MD from the University of Utah Health Sciences Center, Chen Peng-Sheng, MD from the Indiana University School of Medicine, Leslie A. Saxon, MD from the Keck School of Medicine of USC, Melvin M. Scheinman, MD from UCSF, James D. Thomas, MD, FACC from The Cleveland Clinic, and Albert L. Waldo, MD, FACC from University Hospitals of Cleveland.
       We would like to express special thanks to our speakers, to the University of Utah Division of Cardiology, the Heart Rhythm Society, our sponsors and exhibitors, as well as to all those who will be participating in this upcoming event.

CME Accreditation
       The University of Utah School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
       The University of Utah School of Medicine designates this educational activity for a maximum of 11 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)^™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Registration
       Registration for this symposium is available online at “www.WesternAtrialFibrillation.com”.

Hotel Reservations
       Hotel accommodations can be made by phoning The Canyons Resort at (888) CANYONS (888-226-9667). Mention our Group Code, which is 25D38J. Symposium lodging will be located at The Canyons Grand Summit Hotel or the Sundial Lodge.

For more information, please visit: www.WesternAtrialFibrillation.com