The proposed ACHA Research Symposium will be the first-ever research conference focused solely on the rapidly-growing family of diseases which fall under the umbrella of adult congenital heart disease (ACHD). Surgical and medical breakthroughs have transformed congenital heart disease from a lethal condition to a new chronic disease. There are now more adults than children living with congenital heart disease, and the number of adults grows by 5% a year. The ACHA Research Symposium will promote the health of these long-term survivors through the following goals: 1) To review research developments in ACHD 2) To attract new investigators to ACHD 3) To identify promising new ACHD research directions 4) To work towards a consensus on needed research into difficult treatment and management issues in ACHD. The ACHA Research Symposium will be a component of ACHA's Fourth National Conference, and will be concurrent to ACHA's highly successful patient and family conference. Adults with congenital heart disease and their families will be invited to attend the research sharing sessions, and a research overview summarizing the key findings will be a plenary session at the patient-family conference. Patients and families will interact directly with investigators and bring their unique perspective to the proceedings. Given the heterogeneity of adult congenital heart disease population, it is essential that the ACHA Research Symposium focus on questions that will be highly relevant to the overall congenital heart population, and have applicability to patients with a wide variety of lesions. Two subsection topics have been selected: Noninvasive imaging and assessment of the right ventricle; and pregnancy and reproductive issues in ACHD.
The aims of the subsection on right ventricular dysfunction of the research symposium will be to thoroughly review current knowledge and to propose new research in the following areas: best practice in RV imaging, markers of RV dysfunction, effective strategies to halt or delay progressive decline, and perfusion defects and reduced coronary flow.
The aims of the pregnancy and reproduction subsection will be to thoroughly review current knowledge and to propose new research in each of the following topics: risk assessment for women contemplating pregnancy, best practices for anticoagulation during pregnancy, and defining hereditary implications of CHD. The symposium will consist of a mix of moderated poster sessions, formal presentations, and informal discussion and working group sessions. Each subsection will be led by a subsection chair chosen based in their expertise in the defined area. Outstanding junior investigators will be given the opportunity to present their research. The Symposium will conclude with each subsection recommending specific future research endeavors and outlining necessary future actions.
