SVM Communications: Highlights from the 32nd SVM Scientific Sessions

Meeting Highlights

The 32nd annual Society for Vascular Medicine (SVM) Scientific Sessions (#SVM21) were held virtually from Thursday, September 9^th – Saturday, September 11^th, 2021.

In total, there were 487 attendees from 16 countries (Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, Grenada, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jordan, New Zealand, Philippines, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, and United States [38 states]) who joined us over the 3-day event. Attendees included attending physicians, fellows, residents and students, advanced practice providers, nurses, technologists, and individuals from other disciplines. Among them were clinicians, researchers, educators, and patient advocates.

This year’s virtual meeting was unique when compared with that from last year. There were 3 days of virtual content, including both medical education and social/networking sessions. Continuing Medical Education (CME) and Maintenance of Certification (MOC) credit were offered. An array of on-demand vascular content was available, including Novel Therapies for Peripheral Artery Disease by Colorado Prevention Center (CPC), SVM in the Vascular Lab (Advanced Applications in the Vascular Laboratory, Hot Topics and Uncommon Applications, Rapid Fire Case Studies and Interpretation Review and Vascular Laboratory Practice) and the ‘How I Manage’ series, which included short 5-minute talks on aortic disease, cerebrovascular disease, chronic venous disease, PAD/critical limb ischemia/acute limb ischemia, renal and mesenteric disease, venous thromboembolic disease, wound management, and podiatry. On-demand content will remain available for the next year.

On Thursday, our meeting opened with a poster session that included an impressive array of case studies and scientific abstracts chosen by Drs Paul Wennberg, Scott Kinlay, and their selection committee. Attendees entered virtual breakout rooms where they engaged with poster presenters one-on-one or in small groups. Next, SVM Secretary and Membership Chair, Dr Elizabeth Ratchford along with Dr Alec Schmaier led the inaugural Fellow of the Society for Vascular Medicine (FSVM) Welcome Ceremony. New FSVM members were introduced to attendees and were joined by colleagues, family, and friends while being honored. The William R Hiatt Vascular Medicine Year in Review session followed. It began with Dr Marc Bonaca’s moving tribute to Dr Hiatt whom we lost in December 2020. ¹ Then, moderators Drs Ana Casanegra and Marc Bonaca invited vascular medicine thought leaders to review the latest developments in basic and translational science, anticoagulant and antiplatelet therapy, peripheral artery disease, nonatherosclerotic arterial disease, venous thromboembolism, and lymphatic disease. The evening closed with a speed mentoring session that was bursting at the seams with early career mentees matched up with mid- to late-career mentors who provided real-time career advice and counseling.

Friday evening kicked off with ‘fireside’ breakout sessions with members of the SVM Board of Trustees. Participants were encouraged to ask questions about any subject, seek advice, catch up socially, or to discuss specific preassigned topics, including getting the most out of SVM membership; getting more involved with SVM; the global reach of SVM; the implications of being board certified; the practice of vascular medicine; life after fellowship and finding a clinical niche; publishing research; and collaboration, networking, and mentoring. Then, Drs Greg Piazza and Rob McBane led all who dared to compete through several very challenging rounds of Vascular Medicine Jeopardy. You’ll have to read about who won in the SVM Award Ceremony recap below!

Saturday began early with my President’s Welcome, including a moment of silence to commemorate those who perished 20 years ago to the day in the 9/11 terror attacks. An inspiring (Past) Presidential Address by Dr Raghu Kolluri followed (and is published in full form in this issue of Vascular Medicine). ² Next, Drs Yogen Kanthi and Stan Henkin presided as three very talented scientists competed for the Jay D Coffman Young Investigator Award. Scattered throughout the rest of the day were case-based sessions on arterial disease moderated by Drs Kamal Gupta and Jessica Curcio; venous and lymphatic disease moderated by Drs Vinay Satwah and John Phillips; and environmental and inflammatory vascular disorders moderated by Drs Aditya Sharma and Behnood Bikdeli. Drs Abdullah Omari and Ana Casanegra chaired an intriguing session where we were treated with four unknown cases from abroad that kept attendees on the edge of their seats! The much anticipated SVM Awards Ceremony rounded out our afternoon. After recognizing this year’s Vascular Medicine Jeopardy winner, Dr Heather Gornik, and thanking Dr Bruce Gray for his many years of service to the SVM Board of Trustees, Dr Kolluri bestowed the Master of SVM distinction upon Dr Gornik. Dr Gornik then awarded the Mark A Creager Prize for Research Excellence to Brian Duscha and colleagues for their paper, ‘Skeletal muscle capillary density is related to anaerobic threshold and claudication in peripheral artery disease’. Dr Wennberg presented the Jay D Coffman Young Investigator Award to Dr Schmaier for his abstract, ‘Tie2 activation protects against prothrombotic endothelial dysfunction in COVID-19’. Finally, I delivered the Jess R Young Outstanding Vascular Medicine Educator Award to Dr John R (Jerry) Bartholomew of the Cleveland Clinic.

None of the above would have been possible without the hard work of our Program Committee who developed and executed each session, SVM staff (including Sue O’Sullivan, Gina Baxter, Sandy Addison, Monica Blum, Donna Kelly, Ryan O’Sullivan, and everyone else at our new association management company, Veritas, who worked hard to support SVM and our annual meeting), our supporters, including Platinum (Boston Scientific, Inari, Janssen, and Medtronic), Gold (CPC Clinical Research and ShockWave Medical), and Bronze (Bristol Myers Squibb/Pfizer, Cordis, Cardiovascular Systems Incorporated, the Lipedema Foundation, Penumbra, and Philips) sponsors, our educational grant supporter (Gore), and Confex, our meeting platform and technical support.

The 2022 SVM Scientific Sessions (#SVM22) – to be held in Denver, Colorado, September 29–October 1 – will be here before we know it, and you can count on SVM to bring you the latest and greatest that vascular medicine has to offer.