SVM Positions
SVM Endorses American Society of Echocardiography Carotid Intima-Media Thickness Task Force Consensus Statement
There is great interest in identifying asymptomatic patients at high risk who might be candidates for more intensive, evidence-based medical interventions that reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Measurement of carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) with B-mode ultrasound is a noninvasive, sensitive, and reproducible technique for identifying and quantifying subclinical vascular disease and for evaluating CVD risk. To address issues of standardization and help improve the availability of experienced clinical laboratories that can perform high-quality CIMT studies, this consensus document provides recommendations for the use of carotid ultrasound for identifying and quantifying subclinical vascular disease and for evaluating CVD risk in clinical practice. Read the complete statement.
SVM and Related Organizations Representing the Nation's Cardiovascular Specialists Urge Members of the U.S. House of Representatives to Vote in Favor of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act
Heart disease is the number one killer of both men and women in the U.S. and smoking is a major cause of heart disease. Around 35 percent of all smoking-related deaths in the U.S. are from heart disease. Cigarette smokers are 2 to 4 times more likely to develop coronary heart disease than nonsmokers, and 2 to 3 times more likely to die from it. Women are at especially high risk. We strongly support the "Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act," which would help protect the public from the harm of tobacco products by giving the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate the manufacture, distribution, sale, labeling, advertising and promotion of tobacco products. Read the full letter (PDF).
SVM Endorses ACC's Core Cardiology Training Symposium (COCATS), Task Force 11 Report, Vascular Medicine and Peripheral Catheter-Based Intervention
Cardiovascular physicians frequently encounter vascular diseases. Atherosclerosis and thrombosis, in particular, are systemic disorders with clinical manifestations in most peripheral circulations. These and other vascular diseases account for substantial cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Moreover, technological advances in imaging techniques and catheter-based interventions have brought management of vascular diseases firmly into the sphere of the cardiovascular specialist. Training in vascular medicine should be incorporated in a cardiovascular fellowship in order to accommodate the clinical demands of this contemporary paradigm. The COCATS document describes training for physicians who see patients with vascular disease.
SVM endorses ACC/AHA 2007 Guidelines on Perioperative Cardiovascular
Evaluation and Care for Noncardiac Surgery
A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force
on Practice Guidelines (Writing Committee to Revise the 2002 Guidelines on Perioperative
Cardiovascular Evaluation for Noncardiac Surgery); Developed in Collaboration With the American Society of Echocardiography, American
Society of Nuclear Cardiology, Heart Rhythm Society, Society of Cardiovascular
Anesthesiologists, Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, Society for
Vascular Medicine and Biology, and Society for Vascular Surgery. Read the full statement. (PDF)
SVM Joins Newly Formed Coalition Focused on DVT and Pulmonary Embolism Awareness
The Society for Vascular Medicine has joined the newly formed Venous Disease Coalition (VDC). The VDC is a collaborative network of professional and public nonprofit organizations sharing the mission and vision to increase public and health professional awareness of venous disease, including DVT, pulmonary embolism (known collectively as venous thromboembolism or "VTE"). Read the complete statement.
SVM Endorses ACCF/AHA 2007 Clinical Competence Statement on Vascular Imaging with Computed Tomography and Magnetic Resonance
A Report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association/American College of Physicians Task Force on Clinical Competence and Training Developed in Collaboration with the Society of Atherosclerosis Imaging and Prevention, the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography, the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance, and the Society for Vascular Medicine. Read the complete statement. (PDF)