Interviews With Experts: A Collaborative Approach to Resolving Atrial Fibrillation

Release date: March 2007
Expiration date: March 31, 2008

Estimated time to complete activity: 1 hour and 15 minutes

Notice as to the type of hardware and software needed to participate in the activity:

• Flash Player plugin
• Internet Explorer 5.5 or greater (Internet Explorer is not supported on the Macintosh)
• Netscape 7.02 or greater
• Adobe Acrobat Reader
• Windows 98 SE or above
  

If you have any questions with regard to this activity please contact the Postgraduate Institute for Medicine by visiting their Web site at www.pimed.com

Jointly sponsored by Postgraduate Institute for Medicine and Imprint Science

This activity is supported by an educational grant from Boston Scientific

Target Audience
This activity has been designed to meet the educational needs of surgeons involved in the care of patients with atrial fibrillation.

Statement of Need/Program Overview
Atrial fibrillation is the most commonly seen arrhythmia in clinical practice, and its incidence is increasing. With a renewed interest in the ablation of atrial fibrillation, electrophysiologists and surgeons are striving toward the goal of a cure for AF. New instruments and techniques of interventional cardiology and minimally invasive surgery are being developed, the efficacy and safety of the various approaches continue to be elucidated, and clinical investigators are working to establish a base of evidence for the selection of optimal therapy for individual patients and patient groups. Electrophysiologists and surgeons are at the forefront of these endeavors. This is a time for them to collaborate, through shared information and combined efforts, on realizing an integrated, definitive approach to the management of atrial fibrillation.

Educational Objectives
After completing this activity, the participant should be better able to:

• Describe the efficacy and safety of medical treatment of atrial fibrillation
• Cite the risk for stroke associated with atrial fibrillation
• Explain procedure-based treatment of atrial fibrillation
• Identify the need for a surgical/electrophysiologic model of collaboration in the treatment of atrial fibrillation
• Compare patient selection factors for surgical ablation therapy and catheter ablation therapy

Faculty
Marc Gillinov, MD
Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery
The Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Cleveland, Ohio

Adam E. Saltman, MD, PhD
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery
Maimonides Medical Center
Brooklyn, New York

Kalyanam Shivkumar, MD, PhD
UCLA Cardiac Arrhythmia Center
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Los Angeles, California

Accreditation Statement
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and Policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint sponsorship of Postgraduate Institute for Medicine (PIM) and Imprint Science. PIM is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Credit Designation
Postgraduate Institute for Medicine designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest
Postgraduate Institute for Medicine (PIM) assesses conflict of interest with its instructors, planners, managers, and other individuals who are in a position to control the content of CME activities. All relevant conflicts of interest that are identified are thoroughly vetted by PIM for fair balance, scientific objectivity of studies utilized in this activity, and patient care recommendations. PIM is committed to providing its learners with high-quality CME activities and related materials that promote improvements or quality in health care and not a specific proprietary business interest of a commercial interest.

The faculty reported the following financial relationships or relationships to products or devices they or their spouse/life partner have with commercial interests related to the content of this CME activity:

Method of Participation
There are no fees for participating in and receiving CME credit for this activity. During the period March 2007 through March 31, 2008, participants must 1) read the learning objectives and faculty disclosures; 2) study the educational activity; 3) complete the posttest by recording the best answer to each question in the answer key on the evaluation form; 4) complete the evaluation form; and 5) mail or fax the evaluation form with answer key to Postgraduate Institute for Medicine. 

A statement of credit will be issued only upon receipt of a completed activity evaluation form and a completed posttest with a score of 70% or better. Your statement of credit will be mailed to you within 3 weeks.

Media
Internet activity

Disclosure of Unlabeled Use
This educational activity may contain discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the FDA. Postgraduate Institute for Medicine (PIM), Imprint Science, and Boston Scientific do not recommend the use of any agent outside of the labeled indications. 

The opinions expressed in the educational activity are those of the faculty and do not necessarily represent the views of PIM, Imprint Science, and Boston Scientific. Please refer to the official prescribing information for each product for discussion of approved indications, contraindications, and warnings.

Disclaimer
Participants have an implied responsibility to use the newly acquired information to enhance patient outcomes and their own professional development. The information presented in this activity is not meant to serve as a guideline for patient management. Any procedures, medications, or other courses of diagnosis or treatment discussed or suggested in this activity should not be used by clinicians without evaluation of their patient’s conditions and possible contraindications or dangers in use, review of any applicable manufacturer’s product information, and comparison with recommendations of other authorities.

View the Video: Interviews With Experts: A Collaborative Approach to Resolving Atrial Fibrillation

Posttest and Evaluation Form

Publication Date: 7-Mar-2007
Last Modified: 27-Aug-2010