Scholarship Recipients Gear Up for TCT 2006 and Their Futures
Unique case studies by cardiology fellows won them the opportunity to participate in TCT 2006.
As experienced cardiologists from around the world gather at the annual TCT symposium, three up-and-coming cardiologists are present because of their well-researched and distinctive case studies.
Beginning last year, the Cardiovascular Research Foundation offered three scholarships based on case reports featuring intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) therapy. The scholarships include registration and housing at the symposium, along with round-trip airfare.
Cardiology ambassador
Hitoshi Takano, MD, traveled from Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, where he is a junior faculty member with the interventional cardiology team
Takano’s case study described aortic valve stenosis in which IABP was extremely effective not only in the treatment of cardiogenic shock but also in maintaining circulation through each organ during balloon aortic valvuloplasty.
“I was surprised that our studies showed that with the IABP, balloon inflation could maintain the patient’s consciousness for about 30 seconds although cardiac output was almost completely blocked,” he said.
Takano’s current research interests include the prevention of contrast-induced nephropathy, the mechanism of ischemic preconditioning during PCI, the significance of gene polymorphism in coronary artery disease, and myocardial regeneration.
Family tradition
Guilherme Bromberg-Marin, MD, is a second-year interventional cardiology fellow at the University of California, San Diego, Calif.
Bromberg-Marin’s case study presented a unique situation of cardiogenic shock caused by multivessel coronary vasospasm that was quickly treated with appropriate pharmacology, coronary intervention, and IABP support. Despite a moribund presentation, the patient had dramatic and rapid clinical improvement with suitable therapy. “There are very few reports in the literature of spontaneous multivessel coronary spasm and none presenting as cardiogenic shock,” Bromberg-Marin said.
Bromberg-Marin is currently board certified in internal medicine and cardiology and will be taking the nuclear and interventional cardiology board examinations this fall. In the future, he hopes to join the faculty of a prominent academic institution and eventually become an academic interventionalist in the teaching and training of cardiology fellows.
Eager to learn
Wojchiech Wojakowski, MD, is an active cardiologist in the European community and has been an assistant professor in the 3rd Division of Cardiology, Silesian School of Medicine, Katowice, Poland, since 2001 and an interventional cardiologist in American Heart of Poland since 2004.
“TCT is the best conference in interventional cardiology and provides the opportunity to learn from the best surgeons by watching live cases and discussing personal experiences with other interventionalists,” he said.
His case study focused on two patients with acute myocardial infarction, cardiogenic shock with pulmonary edema, and three-vessel coronary artery disease. Wojakowski says this case shows that even high-risk patients, when treated promptly and aggressively, can have good outcomes.
“The use of IABP allowed me to perform revascularization and should be implemented early in high-risk patients when complicated intervention is planned,” he said.