The 2011 Cardiometabolic Health Congress Enduring Activities are jointly sponsored by
HealthScience Media, Inc. and Medical Education Resources, Inc.

Release and Expiration Dates: December 12, 2011 to December 12, 2012
Each activity will take approximately 2 hours to complete.

Statement of Need | Target Audience & Learning Objectives | Accreditation | Disclosure

Statement of Need
The prevalence of cardiometabolic risk continues to rise in the United States. In the years ahead, American physicians should expect to treat unprecedented numbers of patients at high risk for morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease. In 2000, approximately 32% of U.S. adults had metabolic syndrome, a constellation of cardiometabolic risk factors including excessive abdominal fat, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. Today, that figure has climbed to 34% and may even be as high as 38%, depending on the criteria used to define the syndrome.

Cardiometabolic Risk Factors Are Under-Treated and Difficult to Manage
Despite the well-documented risks of unchecked diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and dyslipidemia, these conditions are commonly undertreated. Even when treated, they remain stubbornly difficult to manage:

• Half or more of patients with diabetes fail to meet recommended target HbA1c goals. An analysis of data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey reported that only 50% of treated patients achieve the American Diabetes Association’s recommended HbA1c target of 7% or less. In addition, a report released by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists said that two out of three patients with type 2 diabetes were not achieving the association’s recommended HbA1c goal of 6.5%.
  
• When it comes to first-line therapy for obesity – diet and exercise – few patients succeed, and any improvements are usually modest. Current pharmacotherapy options are limited.  Available obesity drugs have, to date, produced only modest weight loss in most patients and have been linked to adverse gastrointestinal effects and mood disorders.
• Only 71% of patients with hypertension are receiving any form of treatment. Of these, less than half (48%) have their blood pressure under control; hypertension remains uncontrolled in 52% of treated patients.
• Less than half of those who qualify for any kind of lipid-modifying treatment to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease are receiving it. In fact, less than half of even the highest-risk individuals, those with symptomatic coronary heart disease, are receiving lipid-lowering treatment. Of those being treated, only about one-third are achieving target goals.
  

Conclusion
Healthcare professionals play a major role in stemming these health consequences and associated costs by employing aggressive strategies for the early identification and comprehensive management of patients presenting with multiple cardiometabolic risk factors. The 2011 Cardiometabolic Health Congress will translate the latest cutting-edge medical research into practical, clinical approaches for preventing, delaying, and managing cardiovascular and metabolic risk. The goal is to provide the medical community with evidence-based interventions to improve health outcomes and quality of life for the growing numbers of patients at increased cardiometabolic risk.

Target Audience & Learning Objectives
The CMHC is designed for advanced-level clinicians responsible for the prevention, diagnosis, and management of cardiometabolic risk.
Each symposium has its own specific learning objectives which will be viewed before participating in the educational activity.
At the end of the congress, participants will be able to:

• Explain the interrelationships among the various cardiometabolic risk factors, their impact on cardiovascular health, and their common comorbidities.
• Translate evidence-based strategies for prevention, screening, and treatment of cardiometabolic risk factors and their comorbidities to their clinical practice.
• Identify which interventions, including lifestyle changes and various drugs in combination, are most appropriate for particular patients based on their risk profiles.
• Identify how novel and emerging therapies can be integrated into clinical practice to reduce morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular and metabolic disease.

Physician Accreditation
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education through the joint sponsorship of Medical Education Resources and HealthScience Media, Inc. Medical Education Resources is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Medical Education Resources designates each enduring material for a maximum of 2 AMA PRA Category 1 credit(s)™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC)
Medical Education Resources is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. Each CE activity provides 2 contact hours of continuing nursing education.

CA Board of Registered Nursing
Medical Education Resources is a provider of continuing nursing education by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider #CEP 12299, for 2 contact hours per activity.

Registered Dietitian Accreditation
Each program has been approved by the Commission on Dietetic Registration for 2 CPEUs.

There is no fee for this educational activity. The media for this educational activity is the Internet.

Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest
It is the policy of Medical Education Resources to ensure balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all of its educational activities. In accordance with this policy, MER identifies conflicts of interest with its instructors, content managers, and other individuals who are in a position to control the content of an activity. Conflicts are resolved by MER to ensure that all scientific research referred to, reported, or used in a CME activity conforms to the generally accepted standards of experimental ­design, data collection, and analysis.

The content managers reported the following financial relationships with commercial interests whose products or services may be mentioned in this CME activity:

Faculty disclosures can be viewed by clicking the “Faculty Disclosures” link found on the left side menu.

Disclaimer
The content and views presented in this educational activity are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Medical Education Resources and/or HealthScience Media, Inc. The authors have disclosed if there is any discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the FDA in their presentations. The opinions expressed in this educational activity are those of the faculty and do not necessarily represent the views of Medical Education Resources, HealthScience Media, Inc. and/or the various industry supporters. Before prescribing any medicine, primary references and full prescribing information should be consulted. Any procedures, medications, or other courses of diagnosis or treatment discussed or suggested in this activity should not be used by clinicians without evaluation of their patient’s conditions and possible contraindications on dangers in use, review of any applicable manufacturer’s product information, and comparison with recommendations of other authorities. The information presented in this activity is not meant to serve as a guideline for patient management.

Return to Top