The APAC Recap: ASPC 2024 Congress on CVD Prevention, with Viet Le, DMSc, PA-C

In this, the inaugural episode of The APAC Recap, host Erin Pardee, PA-C, a physician asssociate and board member for the Academy of Physician Associates in Cardiology (APAC), is joined by fellow board member Viet Le, DMSc, PA-C, to discuss key insights from the American Society of Preventive Cardiology (ASPC) Congress on Cardiovascular Disease Prevention.

Key Timestamps

00:00 - Introduction and Overview of ASPC Congress
02:28 - Favorite Presentations and Key Debates at ASPC
05:42 - Recommendations for General Cardiology Practitioners on Lipoprotein(a) Testing
07:21 - Conference Attendance and Specialties Benefiting from ASPC
09:28 - Continuing Education and Clinician Resources at ASPC
10:46 - Favorite Aspects of the ASPC Congress
12:50 - Upcoming CAPP Live Meeting

Held in Salt Lake City, Utah from August 2 to 4, 2024, ASPC 2024 featured more than a dozen sessions led by leading opinion leaders in cardiology. When discussing his time at the meeting, Le, describes it as a personal favorite of his, pointing out the meeting programming’s emphasis on taking a practical approach to preventive cardiology.

Le emphasizes the conference’s focus on comprehensive cardiovascular care, which includes discussions on non-traditional cardiology topics such as obesity and metabolic health. He cites key debates from the conference, including discussions on the role of coronary calcium (CAC) vs. CT angiogram (CTA) in refining cardiovascular risk, and the value of lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] testing in routine practice.

Later in the episode, Le points out Lp(a)’s recognition as an important risk factor, but underlines its present utility lies primarily in adjusting the intensity of risk reduction strategies for conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. Le calls attention to ongoing phase 3 trials of Lp(a)-lowering agents, such as olpasiran, lepodisiran, and zerlasiran.

When discussing these trials, Le expresses optimism about upcoming therapies aimed at reducing cardiovascular events by targeting this biomarker and encourages providers to consider ordering Lp(a) testing at least once for their cardiology patients, which he highlights was recently introduced as an official recommendation by the National Lipid Association. During the conversation, Le also teases the inclusion of late-breaking data into the meeting’s agenda in the future.

Before concluding the conversation, Le and Pardee take a look ahead to the upcoming Cardiovascular Advanced Practice Providers (CAPP) conference. Le highlights his own sessions from the meeting, where he will cover topics such as hyperlipidemia, chest pain guidelines, and metabolic health.

All episodes of The APAC Recap will be available on HCPLive.com and on our YouTube channel.

Are you an APP interested in learning more about cardiology? Click the image below for more information on CAPP Live 2024!