UCSF Cardiologists Share Research, Receive Recognition at Heart Meeting
Late-breaking results from clinical trials, debates about lifestyle choices and cardiovascular risk, and improving clinical care with generative AI are among the topics being presented by UC San Francisco clinicians and researchers at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2025. The meeting, taking place from Nov. 7 to 10 in New Orleans, Louisiana, is the premier global event in cardiovascular health and science.
This year’s program features innovative research, award recognition, and discussions by experts from the UCSF Division of Cardiology.
Leading UCSF presentations (all times Central):
Saturday, Nov. 8, from 1:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.
UCSF’s Megan McLaughlin, MD, MPH, will receive the “Dr. Nanette K. Wenger Research Goes Red® Award” for her article “Disparities in Postpartum Care After a Hypertensive Disorder of Pregnancy in the United States.” The annual award recognizes the best article on cardiovascular disease and stroke in women that is published each year in an American Heart Association Journal. Her article was based on her research into the postpartum treatment of women with hypertensive disorder of pregnancy (HDP). The study found significant disparities in participants’ receipt of postpartum counseling or screening for cardiovascular risk factors, representing a missed opportunity to equitably improve the long-term cardiovascular health of individuals with HDP.
In selecting McLaughlin’s article for recognition, the American Heart Association noted, “Her research highlighted critical gaps in postpartum care for individuals with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, a major risk factor for future cardiovascular disease.” McLaughlin will receive the award and present her article during the main event session “Annual Dr. Nanette K. Wenger Research Goes Red® Award for Best Scientific Article on Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke in Women,” from 1:50 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.
McLaughlin is a UCSF assistant professor of Medicine and is a general cardiologist with advanced training in echocardiography. She serves on the American Heart Association (AHA) Social Determinants of Health Committee and the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease Section Leadership Council. In her research, McLaughlin develops and tests new approaches to heart disease prevention, with a focus on improving treatment of risk factors for heart disease like high blood pressure and prevention of heart disease in women who have had complications of pregnancy.
Saturday, Nov. 8, from 10:23 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Gregory M. Marcus, MD, the Endowed Professor in Atrial Fibrillation Research at UCSF and director of clinical research at the UCSF Division of Cardiology, presents “Debate 2: Low Alcohol Intake, Occasional Use of Cannabis, and Vaping are Reasonably Safe, with Regards to Cardiovascular and Stroke Risk – Yes” and participates in debate and Q&A during the clinical session “Controversies in Primary Prevention (Debates): Heart and Brain Health.” While heavy drinking is harmful for all forms of heart disease, contrary to recent media reporting, a drink a day could still have benefits and Marcus emphasizes the importance of reliance on rigorous science and randomized controlled trial data. Marcus recently vice-chaired an American Heart Association Scientific Statement on Alcohol and Cardiovascular Disease.
Marcus also presents “Left Ventricular Entry to Reduce Brain Lesions During Catheter Ablation: A Randomized Trial” during the clinical session “Circulation: Innovation in Cardiovascular Science and Medicine: An AHA Journals Session” on Sunday, Nov. 9, from 3:56 p.m. to 4:02 p.m. Marcus reports on the results of this randomized control trial that showed that a transseptal puncture prevented brain lesions compared to a more conventional retrograde aortic approach. He also discusses findings from the study data demonstrating that brain lesions in visual areas were associated with subsequent migraine-related visual auras.
Marcus is the senior author of the late-breaking clinical trial, “The Does Eliminating Coffee Avoid Fibrillation (DECAF) Trial,” presented by first author Chris Wong, MBBS, PhD, a former UCSF cardiac electrophysiology fellow, during the main event session “Cardiometabolic and Lifestyle Interventions for AF.” Wong reports on the effects that drinking a cup of caffeinated coffee daily have on the risk of atrial fibrillation. The study publishes simultaneously in JAMA and is embargoed to Nov. 9, 8:45 a.m., coinciding with the presentation time.
Marcus is also a panelist for “Mastering Research and Writing in Cardiology: The Physician-Scientist’s Guide to Success” fellows-in-training seminar on Saturday, Nov. 8, from 1:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 8, from 1:54 p.m. to 2:02 p.m.
Sammy Elmariah, MD, MPH, an interventional cardiologist and chief of Interventional Cardiology at UCSF, presents “TAVR UNLOAD Trial: TAVR in Patients with Systolic Heart Failure and Moderate Aortic Stenosis” during the clinical session “Hottest Clinical Trials in Valvular Heart Disease: Key Insights from Late-Breaking Studies.” Elmariah presents an update on the TAVR UNLOAD Trial, which is a randomized trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of TAVR in patients with systolic heart failure and moderate aortic stenosis.
Elmariah also presents "Is There a Role for Early Treatment of Moderate Aortic Stenosis?" during the clinical guidelines session “Mastering Aortic Stenosis: Get with the Guidelines for Cardiology & Primary Care,” Friday, Nov. 7, from 12:46 p.m. to 12:54 p.m. Elmariah’s presentation will summarize the role of aortic valve replacement for moderate aortic stenosis. He will review current guidelines and ongoing clinical trials.
Elmariah also presents “Edge-to-edge tricuspid valve repair - Does it work?” during the clinical session “Tricuspid Valve Disease - To Intervene or Not to Intervene, that is the Question,” Saturday, Nov. 8, from 3:27 p.m. to 3:39 p.m. The consequences of chronic tricuspid valve regurgitation on long-term cardiovascular health are increasingly recognized. This session offers an update regarding the evolving surgical, transcatheter and imaging approaches to significant tricuspid valve disease. Elmariah provides an overview of safety and efficacy of transcatheter tricuspid valve repair for symptomatic severe TR.
Elmariah participates in “Debate of Transcatheter Mitral Valve Replacement vs. Surgery for Mitral Annular Calcification in Women: Pro TMVR” during the clinical session “Small Annulus & Severe MAC: Navigating Complex Valvular Disease in Women” on Sunday, Nov. 9, from 10:22 a.m. to 10:31 a.m. This session provides critical perspectives on tailoring treatment strategies for complex valvular conditions. Elmariah will argue that transcatheter mitral valve replacement is superior to surgery for mitral annular calcification in women.
Monday, Nov. 10, from 10:35 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.
Cara Pellegrini, MD, UCSF associate clinical professor and director of cardiac electrophysiology at the San Francisco VA, will present “Stroke Prevention after Ablation of Paroxysmal AF” during the main event session “Don't Risk It: AF Related Stroke Prevention” on (date/time). Pellegrini’s presentation will cover the mechanistic and data-driven rationale for considering cessation of anticoagulation in a subset of patients after a successful AF ablation. Complexities such as monitoring strategies, nuances of patient selection, and anticoagulation options beyond all-or-none will be included.
Pellegrini also presents “Matching the Right Device to the Clinical Need” during the core cardiology session “Frenemies: Leadless and Physiologic Pacing,” on Friday, Nov. 7, from 9:59 a.m. to 10:06 a.m. Pellegrini’s presentation follows presentations supporting conduction system pacing and leadless pacing. Her case-based talk will then aim to provide clinical context regarding device choice from guideline-based recommendations and study data to details from high volume experience.
Monday, Nov. 10, from 1:43 p.m. to 1:56 p.m.
Rima Arnaout, MD, a cardiologist, UCSF associate professor in cardiology and a member of the UCSF Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute, presents “Improving Health Outcomes with Foundation Models of Clinical Care” during the population cardiovascular seminar “Generative AI to Build a New Future of Cardiovascular Care.” Arnaout’s talk will focus on generative image translation to curate better datasets for clinical/translational deep learning models. Arnaout and her colleagues developed a novel pipeline that translated ultrasound sub-modalities and performed thorough evaluations of their synthetic data, with functional and human testing that fooled the evaluators. This method allowed the researchers to recruit tens of thousands of additional images to their clinical models and demonstrated foundational capabilities, working across anatomic structures outside those on which it was trained. This work demonstrates how to expand the utility of available medical imaging toward improving clinically relevant deep learning models.
Friday, Nov. 7, from 1:00 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.
Javid Moslehi, MD, William Grossman Distinguished Professor in Cardiology and UCSF Section Chief of Cardio-Oncology and Immunology, presents “Therapeutic Targets for Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Myocarditis” during the basic science seminar “Translational Cardio-Immunology: Precision Therapies for Heart Failure.” New technology developed in immunology and oncology, when applied to cardiology, could revolutionize approaches to treating cardiovascular disease. Moslehi highlights the need for more interdisciplinary research and an emphasis on training the next generation of cardiologists with an awareness of cardio-immunology to be able to translate new scientific advances into the cardiovascular space.
Moslehi also presents “Centennial Collection: Cardio-Oncology: A New Clinical Frontier and Novel Platform for Cardiovascular Investigation” during the clinical seminar “Circulation: Innovation in Cardiovascular Science and Medicine: An AHA Journals Session” on Friday, Nov. 9, from 3:35 p.m. to 3:40 p.m. Moslehi will present and discuss his 2024 article, “Cardio-oncology: A New Clinical Frontier and Novel Platform for Cardiovascular Investigation.”
Friday, Nov. 7, from 2:28 p.m. to 2:41 p.m.
Connor O’Brien, MD, a cardiologist with expertise in echocardiography, assistant professor of medicine and associate director of the UCSF Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU), presents “Biomarkers in Cardiogenic Shock: but Isn't Lactic Acid Enough?” during the clinical session “Translating Data into Outcomes in Critical Care.” Lactate is a gold standard biomarker for monitoring tissue perfusion in cardiogenic shock, but recent data suggest that using lactate as a guide for escalation of therapy may limit the ability to modify outcomes. Chronic hypoperfusion may allow cells to adapt to tissue hypoxia, which results in lactate becoming elevated at the latest stages of cardiogenic shock. Recent research suggests that once hyperlactemia is present in cardiogenic shock mortality is stagnant at 50 - 60%. In this talk, O’Brien will review novel biomarkers as well as novel applications for existing clinical biomarkers to identify patients at risk for disease progression before the onset of critical tissue hypoxia.
Friday, Nov. 7, from 12:46 p.m. to 12:54 p.m.
Marko Boskovski, MD, MPH, a cardiothoracic surgeon, assistant professor of surgery and director of Ross and Aortic Valve Preserving Surgery at UCSF Health, presents "How to Distinguish Paradoxical Low-Flow, Low-Gradient Aortic Stenosis and Management Strategies: Case Examples" during the clinical guidelines session “Mastering Aortic Stenosis: Get with the Guidelines for Cardiology & Primary Care.” Paradoxical low-flow, low-gradient aortic stenosis is a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge because several echo parameters used to diagnose aortic stenosis provide conflicting information. As such, the diagnosis is typically confirmed by additional echo and CT testing to identify patients who may benefit from intervention. Correct diagnosis is critical in this high-risk cohort, who nevertheless may benefit from surgical or transcatheter aortic valve replacement. In this presentation, Boskovski will review challenging cases with paradoxical, low-flow, low-gradient aortic stenosis and their treatment.
Boskovski also presents "Viewpoints: Valve Repair +/- Valve Sparing is the Way to Go!" during the clinical guidelines seminar “TCT at AHA: Aortic Regurgitation: The New Frontier--Imaging, Interventions, and the Future of Treatment” on Saturday, Nov. 8, from 1:55 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Patients with aortic regurgitation with or without an associated aortic root aneurysm have historically been treated with aortic valve replacement. This pathology often occurs in nonelderly patients, who have suboptimal long-term survival with aortic valve replacement compared to the general population. In the past decade, aortic valve repair has emerged as a promising treatment option for patients with aortic regurgitation, with a growing body of literature indicating improved long-term survival that is superior to traditional aortic valve replacement and comparable to the general population.
He also presents "The Rationale for Size-Based Guidelines" during the clinical guidelines seminar “Highlights in Aortic Disease: What Everyone Needs to Know” on Sunday, Nov. 9, from 4:00 p.m. to 4:06 p.m. Thoracic aortic aneurysms are a challenging clinical problem because they are most frequently asymptomatic, but can have catastrophic consequences in the form of aortic dissection and/or rupture. Treatment involves surgical aortic replacement, which is performed when the risk of surgery is estimated to be less than the risk of aortic dissection and/or rupture. Biomechanically, aortic dissection occurs when aortic wall stress exceeds wall strength. However, there is currently no method to calculate wall stress and wall strength outside of the research setting in routine clinical practice. As such, aortic diameter is the most robust and reliable metric to approximate the risk of aortic complications and recommend surgical intervention.
Saturday, Nov. 8, from 10:37 a.m. to 10:47 a.m.
Amy Fiedler, MD, a cardiac surgeon, associate professor of surgery and director of UCSF Health’s Heart Transplantation & Mechanical Circulatory Support, presents “Debate Pro: ECMO as a Bridge to Cardiac Transplant” during the clinical session “Raising Lazarus--Raising Cardiogenic Shock Patients from the Dead.” This session addresses our current understanding of cardiogenic shock and the role for acute circulatory support therapy in its management. Fielder argues that under the current allocation system for cardiac transplant, patients supported by ECMO benefit from the highest priority on the waitlist. She examines whether patients, even those with some myocardial recovery, are prognostically advantaged to go to transplant rather than to live with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction.
Fiedler also co-leads the simulation session “Demonstration: LVAD insertion into Pig Heart” in the Sim Zone Theater Hands-on Learning 2 simulation session with Pablo Amador Sanchez, UCSF assistant clinical professor, on Saturday, Nov. 8, from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 8, from 10:45 a.m. to 10:50 a.m.
Sanket Dhruva, MD, MHS, UCSF associate professor of clinical medicine, presents “Effectiveness of Elective Endovascular Intervention for Patients with Peripheral Arterial Disease and Intermittent Claudication” during the moderated digital poster session “PAD and Aortic Interventions.” Peripheral vascular intervention (PVI) is increasingly used for the treatment of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) with intermittent claudication (IC). Dhruva reports on results of a study that examined the comparative effectiveness and costs of elective PVI compared to no PVI among patients with PAD and IC.
Sunday, Nov. 9, from 3:30 p.m. to 4:45 p.m.
Rita F. Redberg, MD, MS, a cardiologist, and the Araxe Vilensky Endowed Chair in Cardiology at UCSF, is a panelist for the clinical seminar “Access to Heart Failure Care in Women and Under-Represented Populations: Challenges and Solutions in the U.S. and Worldwide.” This session aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the challenges and priorities in addressing heart disease among women and under-represented populations, fostering a collaborative discussion on improving care and outcomes.
Monday, Nov. 10, from 8:00 a.m. to 8:04 a.m.
Emily Marogi, MD, chief medical resident in the UCSF Department of Medicine, presents “Case Presentation for Stuck Open, Slammed Shut: A Valvular Catastrophe Causing Cardiogenic Shock” during the clinical session “Beyond the Usual Suspects: Atypical Causes of Shock in the CICU.” Marogi will describe a patient with congenital bicuspid aortic valve and moderate AS s/p valvuloplasty who presented with cardiogenic shock secondary severe AS and biventricular failure requiring VA-ECMO later transitioned to LAVA ECMO allowing bridge to TAVR and recovery. The case demonstrates how ECMO can be used a bridge to valve intervention.
Monday, Nov. 10, from 9:48 a.m. to 10:01 a.m.
Guo Huang, PhD, associate professor in the UCSF Cardiovascular Research Institute, presents “Decoding Heart Regeneration: Insights from Non-model Organisms to Humans” during the basic research seminar “Cell Fate Mechanisms in Cardiac Development and Disease.” The ability to regenerate damaged or lost tissues varies dramatically across organisms and developmental stages. For example, heart muscle renewal is robust in adult zebrafish and newborn mice but is very limited in adult mice and humans. Intriguingly, some long-lived or so-called “immortal” animals exhibit whole-body renewal throughout their lifespan. Guo and his colleagues aim to explore whether mammals with exceptional longevity also retain regenerative capacity in organs that typically cannot regrow, such as the heart. He will present their analysis of human heart data to support these conclusions.
About UCSF Health: UCSF Health is recognized worldwide for its innovative patient care, reflecting the latest medical knowledge, advanced technologies and pioneering research. It includes the flagship UCSF Medical Center, which is a highly-ranked specialty hospital, as well as UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals, with campuses in San Francisco and Oakland; two community hospitals, UCSF Health St. Mary's and UCSF Health Saint Francis; Langley Porter Psychiatric Hospital; UCSF Benioff Children’s Physicians; and the UCSF Faculty Practice. These hospitals serve as the academic medical center of the University of California, San Francisco, which is world-renowned for its graduate-level health sciences education and biomedical research. UCSF Health has affiliations with hospitals and health organizations throughout the Bay Area. Visit www.ucsfhealth.org. Follow UCSF Health on Facebook or on Twitter.