President's Message

February 2021

Happy Heart Month!!

Hopefully many of you have already been celebrating Heart Month with last week’s #WearRed day.  See below for a list of social media events still to come this month.  If you haven’t contributed to the conversation about Heart Month yet, there’s still time.  It doesn’t have to be fancy or complicated.  Here are a few easy ideas to spread the word:

• Have office staff leave patient education fliers about primary prevention in the waiting room.  Then, ask patients to take these home and share with friends and family. 
• Consider calling into local radio or news station to offer to do a three minute segment on how to be more heart healthy in everyday life.
• Send an email to your own friends and family, ensuring that they know the risks of heart disease and that they at least know their blood pressure, cholesterol, sugar and BMI. 

If you have other easy quick tips on how to spread the word about Heart Month, please let us know.  Also, CV Summit is this week.  If you haven’t signed up, go here now so that you can hear the latest on practical business solutions for challenges we face in delivering high value care in this ever changing health care environment.  The Summit is virtual this year and accessible everywhere.  Don’t miss the opportunity to join.   

Katie Berlacher, MD, FACC

President, Pennsylvania Chapter ACC

Governor, Western Pennsylvania

Congenital Heart Disease Awareness Week

February 7 – 14

• The College will be supporting Mended Little Hearts’ Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) Awareness Week through the sharing of CHD research and patient tools on social media. Join the conversation via #CHDAware on social media.
• Look out for a mini-focused issue on CHD in the February issue of JACC: Case Reports.

Cardiac Rehab Awareness Week 

February 14 – 20

• The College will be supporting the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR) through the sharing of cardiac rehab research and patient tools on social media. To join the conversation, follow #CRWeek21 on social media. 

Heart Failure Awareness Week

February 14-20

• The College will be partnering with the Heart Failure Society of America to increase awareness about the severity of heart failure. A Twitter Chat will take place on Wednesday, February 17 at noon EST. To join the conversation, follow #HFChat2021 and #HFWeek2021 on Twitter.

National Donor Day

Sunday, February 14

• The College will be supporting all heart donors and their families through sharing heart transplant research and patient tools on social media. Join the conversation via #NationalDonorDay on Twitter. 

National Heart Valve Disease Awareness Day

Monday, February 22

• The College will be partnering with the Alliance for Aging Research to increase awareness about heart valve disease. A Twitter Chat will take place on Monday, February 22 at 1:00pm EST. To join the conversation, follow #ValveDiseaseDay on Twitter.
• The ACC and American Heart Association recently released an updated Guideline for the Management of Patients With Valvular Heart Disease. Visit ACC’s VHD Guideline Hub for clinician and patient tools and resources.

February 2020 - Jessica Oh, MD

Reflections on Starting Residency in the Middle of a Global Pandemic

I never imagined I would start my residency in the middle of a global pandemic. That I would be worried about PPE availability. Or be afraid of contracting a new virus that scientists were racing to find more information on, a virus that could potentially have life threatening consequences. To read the rest, click here.

Humans of Cardiology is an opportunity for PaACC members to share motivating stories about their personal and professional lives and was inspired by the wildly popular Humans of New York series. Submit your story and view past posts here.