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News / Headlines
Contact: Daniel Keeney, APR
DPK Public Relations
832.467.2904
dan@dpkpr.com
SHAPE Offers Free Carotid IMT Certification Workshop
HOUSTON, December 23, 2010 – SHAPE, The Society for Heart Attack
Prevention and Eradication (http://www.shapesociety.org),
a nonprofit organization that promotes early detection and
preventive intervention to reduce heart attack risk, has opened
registration for the SHAPE Carotid IMT Certification Workshop. The
workshop for primary care physicians, cardiologists and
radiologists, is part of the SHAPE Provider Certification initiative
that focuses on best practices for reducing the incidence of acute
coronary events and deaths from coronary artery disease.
Workshop participants will learn how to identify clinically
appropriate patients for Carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT)
screening to detect hidden plaque buildup in coronary and carotid
arteries, how to apply Carotid IMT in a primary care setting and
have an opportunity to perform scans.
“The SHAPE Carotid IMT Certification Workshop illustrates the ways
SHAPE is working to raise the level of operator training and
experience to achieve high quality results from atherosclerosis
tests,” said JoAnne Zawitoski, chair of the SHAPE Board of
Directors. “By teaching providers how to responsibly employ
scientifically proven screening methodologies such as Carotid IMT as
a part of a physician’s preventive medicine practice, SHAPE Provider
Certification is making progress toward improving clinical outcomes
for patients.”
Carotid IMT scanning by ultrasound is one of two non-invasive
imaging tests for atherosclerosis recommended by SHAPE. Carotid IMT
tests can assess and reduce an asymptomatic individual’s heart
attack risk instead of solely relying on measuring risk factors such
as cholesterol. SHAPE also recommends coronary artery calcification
scoring (CACS) by a computed tomography (CT) scan. SHAPE recommends
the tests be incorporated into routine screening for apparently
healthy men and women as they age.
In addition to SHAPE Provider Certification, SHAPE encourages best
practices in heart attack screening through SHAPE Certified Centers
of Excellence. Unlike traditional cardiovascular clinics that are
primarily focused on preventing a second heart attack, SHAPE
Certified Centers of Excellence focus on the prevention of a first
heart attack.
The day-long SHAPE Carotid IMT Certification Workshop is scheduled
Saturday, January 15, 2011 at Trevisio Restaurant and Conference
Center in the Texas Medical Center in Houston. To register for free,
visit
http://www.shapesociety.org/cimt-workshop.
About the Society for Heart Attack Prevention and Eradication
(SHAPE):
The mission of SHAPE (www.shapesociety.org) is to eradicate heart
attack by championing new strategies for prevention while advancing
the scientific quest for a cure. SHAPE visualizes a world free from
the threat of heart attack. The goals of SHAPE are to reduce the
instances of heart attack - especially in the asymptomatic patient -
through education programs presented to both healthcare
professionals and the community. SHAPE believes that education and
ongoing research are key elements in the success of programs
designed to go beyond the norm in the early detection and treatment
of cardiovascular disease.
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