On Thursday, May  30, the Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC) and the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF) held a CME program, “Improving Cardiovascular Care in Women and Underserved Populations” in New York City, with 60 healthcare professionals in attendance. This session is a part of a joint initiative called A New Beat, dedicated to advocating for women and minorities rising as leaders in the field of cardiology, so they can provide better access and improve care for all patients.

The symposium included presentations on important topics such as “Time to Stop Passing the Buck: What Every Cardiologist in 2019 Needs to Know About Cardiometabolic Risk Reduction and the Treatment of Diabetes Mellitus” by Dr. Keith C. Ferdinand, “The Approach to the High-Risk of Bleeding Patient” by Dr. Roxana Mehran and “Who Ya Gonna Call? Clot Busters! Therapeutic Approaches Available in Caring for Complex Venous Thromboembolic Disease” by Dr. Erika Berman Rosenzweig. Dr.  Mayra Guerrero also delivered a presentation on “Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) in Women and Minorities.”

The presenters were joined by expert panelists Kelly M. Axsom, MD, Rachel Bond, MD, Philip Green, MD, Nadira Hamid, MD, Jennifer H. Haythe, MD, Ajay J. Kirtane, MD, SM, Martin B. Leon, MD, Vivian G. Ng, MD, Jessica M. Peña, MD, Stacey E. Rosen, MD and Robert J. Sommer, MD.

After the educational portion of the program, the co-chairs, Dr. Cheryl Pegus and Dr. Nisha Jhalani hosted a networking reception where they were joined by women, power and leadership expert Gloria Felt, who gave a heartfelt message to the guests about the importance of mentoring  and leadership.

A New Beat will offer its next educational event, a Facebook Live stream, on July 17 at 3:00 PM, featuring Dr. Nisha Jhalani and ABC Past President Dr. Icilma Fergus. The live stream will focus on the cardiologist’s role in cardiometabolic risk reduction and the treatment of diabetes mellitus including current treatment options for cardiovascular risk reduction in patients with diabetes.

A New Beat is designed to be an ongoing initiative to create a supportive community and share resources for women and minorities who would like to advance their careers while improving patient outcomes. In addition to the seminars, content will be available on ANewBeat.org and LinkedIn.