Baptist Health Heart & Vascular Care was well represented at the 2026 American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions in New Orleans in March. Both the Christine E. Lynn Women's Health & Wellness Institute and Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute had presenters sharing evidence to influence cardiovascular practice.
On the heels of serving on the writing committee for new guidelines to manage lipids that were published by the leading journals of the American College of Cariology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA), Heather Johnsson, M.D., director of preventive cardiology for women's services with Baptist Health Heart & Vascular Care at the Christine E. Lynn Women's Health & Wellness Institute and clinical affiliate associate professor for Florida Atlantic University, was invited to present the new guidelines at this international meeting in New Orleans. Dr. Johnson explored the role of imaging in risk assessment during a session about the new guideline for managing dyslipidemia. Dyslipidemia is an imbalance of fats, including cholesterol and triglycerides, in the blood.
Additionally, Emilia Gucciardo, a certified physician assistant at Baptist Health Cardiology & Sleep Medicine | Kendall (Galloway), was invited to present her poster, “Cracking Chylomicrons Through Teamwork: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Functional Familial Chylomicronemia Syndrome” at the meeting. This presentation highlighted Baptist Health Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute's multidisciplinary model that comprehensively addresses complex lipid disorders and cardiometabolic risk. This multidisciplinary collaboration among physicians, advanced practitioners, pharmacists, nurse navigators and care coaches proved to rapidly recognize a rare lipid disorder and access to novel therapy for a young women diagnosed with functional familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS). This collaborative approach alleviated the patient's frequent pancreatitis, optimized lipid control and reduced her long-term cardiovascular risk.
Sharing information like this on a large international stage elevates Baptist Health Heart & Vascular Care among physicians and researchers throughout the world.
