Last month’s Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) Scientific Sessions in Denver provided ample evidence that MRI techniques will play an increasingly significant role in the diagnoses, treatment and management of AF patients. Our CARMA Center at the University of Utah, which is at the forefront of MRI research efforts, contributed to the “buzz” about MRI with our satellite symposium, investigators’ meetings, posters and awards.

We were especially encouraged by the enthusiastic response we received from representatives for influential research centers regarding CARMA’s international multi-center research project. The purpose of this study is to validate that the use of Delayed Enhancement MRI to detect atrial fibrosis is a useful diagnostic staging tool for evaluating patients and determining the most effective treatment options.

HRS accepted for presentation eight posters from the CARMA Center team, which primarily focused on the use of Delayed Enhancement MRI in ablation and structural remodeling. One of our researchers received the Young Investigator’s Award for his research and presentation on the use of DE-MRI to assess atrial fibrosis and predict stroke in AF patients. The study proposes taking into account the amount of left atrial fibrosis in addition to the CHADS2 score when determining the risks for individual patients of having a stroke.

In addition, one of the CARMA Center nurses won an award for submitting the highest scoring abstract received by HRS this year. She gave an excellent oral presentation of her work on updating the monitoring protocol for catheter ablation patients.

Another highlight of the HRS Scientific Sessions was the CME Satellite Symposium, “Coming to Consensus: Defining New Treatment & Management Options for Atrial Fibrillation,” which was presented by the CARMA Center in partnership with eCardio Diagnostics. More than 230 physicians attended this symposium, which was moderated by Dr. Francis Marchlinski and the upcoming President of HRS, Dr. Douglas Packer. Its topics included Cardiac Monitoring, Management of AF, Endpoints of the Ablation Procedure, The Use of MRI for Management of AF, the Standards for Reporting, the Need for an Atrial Fibrillation Database, and an Update on the Current Prospective Study Results Regarding Ablation for AF.

Thanks to everyone on the CARMA team for your contributions in making this event such a major success. Together, with the growing support of the cardiac community worldwide, we are moving rapidly towards our goal of being able to personalize the treatment and management of atrial fibrillation.

For more information about any of the CARMA presentations at HRS, contact Valerie Strasburger [http://www.healthsciences.utah.edu/carma/staff/Valerie.html]. I’ll share more information about our 16-center international study to validate our AF staging concepts in my July blog post.

Nassir F. Marrouche, MD is the Executive Director of the Comprehensive Arrhythmia Research & Management Center, Director of Electrophysiology Laboratories, and Director of the Atrial Fibrillation Program at the University of Utah School of Medicine, Division of Cardiology.