San Francisco is an eclectic city with a rich history that also happens to be known for some of the most forward-thinking technology development in the country. It was built because of a discovery: prior to 1848 it had been a small settlement of 200, but within 2 years it had swelled to 25,000 as treasure-seekers came to make their fortunes. In March, San Francisco will swell again, however briefly, as thousands of ACC members and colleagues come together for our 62^nd Annual Scientific Session: Discovery to Delivery” (ACC.13). But instead of gold, we'll be seeking to learn, explore, enjoy, and make a more lasting mark on the world through improving cardiovascular (CV) health.

Like San Francisco, this year's meeting mixes tradition and innovation. To help members make the most of the sessions and activities that have been so effective in meetings past, such as guest lectures, late-breaking clinical trial presentations, and convocation, this year's meeting team is capitalizing on modern technologies with the ACC.13 eMeeting Planner App and Online Planner. You can use these tools to easily explore sessions, presentations and speakers, instantaneously locate them, and design the agenda that best fits your needs. Search the ACC.13 program by specialty, by interest area, or by role in the CV team. You can automatically populate your calendar with your sessions of interest. Several rooms will have live simultaneous streaming video on your mobile device so you can enjoy surfing among presentations while sitting in a comfortable environment. Just search “ACC.13” in your app store to download the app today.

ACC.13 will also feature the official launch of 2 important web-based educational offerings: the College's innovative Lifelong Learning Portfolio (LLP) for the CV professional, and the new CardioSmart for patients and their care team (see the September President's page for more details on the LLP). The LLP will enable members to design, access, and fulfill their own personal curricula based on their own areas of interest, preferred learning formats, and practice gap areas. Meanwhile, ACC.13 will be the “live” education complement to this digital portfolio.

ACC.13 offers participants 16 learning pathways from which to choose, with topics ranging from congenital diseases, imaging, and prevention, to heart failure, intervention, and all the topics in between. Meet the Experts sessions, interactive case reviews, debates, oral abstract presentations and poster sessions within each of these pathways not only provide direct access to the latest research but present opportunities to learn how to actually apply these new discoveries at the point of care.

New this year, ACC.13 attendees can dive into an in-depth integrated course in cardiology led by CV legend Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, MACC. Designed for the general cardiologist and Fellow in Training (FIT), this course will cover the essentials of cardiology, such as coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease, heart failure and arrhythmias, as well as the challenges of promoting CV health.

The full-day Joint Multimodality Imaging Symposium will feature sessions on how imaging is being used to help guide new therapies such as transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), catheter-based intervention for structural heart disease, and advanced imaging in heart failure. Forward-looking sessions will explore the type of tests physicians may be ordering in the future for coronary artery disease and the ways multimodality imaging can be used to treat congenital heart disease.

Other popular joint sessions, including full-day joint sessions with the Heart Failure Society of American (HFSA) and the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS), will return for ACC.13. The HFSA session will feature topics like cardiac transplantation versus assist devices as destination therapy, heart failure care in the era of health care reform, how to monitor patients with heart failure, and an update on heart failure practice guidelines. Management of atrial fibrillation, diagnosis and treatment of patients with inherited arrhythmia syndromes, catheter ablation of cardiac arrhythmias, implanted ICD therapy for sudden death prevention, as well as important issues to look out for in 2013, will make up the HRS session. In addition, a full-day Pharmacology Program will focus on hot topics such as pharmacologic considerations with the new oral anticoagulants, new antiarrhythmic drugs, pharmacologic pearls of wisdom in the treatment of heart failure, and more.

The TCT@ACC-i2 Learning Pathway, built by interventionalists for interventionalists, will focus on the latest innovations and science in interventional techniques and devices, from TAVR to complex coronary disease, mitral valve repair, endovascular reconstruction and renal artery denervation. Based on the success of previous interventional sessions from both ACC and TCT, it will include live interventional case broadcasts, didactic “How to” sessions, and ample opportunities for attendees to interact directly with innovators and experts in interventional cardiology and structural heart disease.

Maintenance of Certification (MOC) and continuing medical education are increasingly important benefits of the Scientific Session, given new and emerging requirements. As medical education changes, so does the College. Attendees can earn up to 60 MOC points across a selection of 13 brand new MOC Part II sessions while updating their knowledge or preparing for board certification at Core Curriculum and MOC Study Sessions.

Two additional sessions, currently under development, include an MOC Part II Quality Bootcamp aimed at teaching physicians what quality is and how they can improve it, and an MOC Part IV session that would allow participants to customize their own performance improvement model with guidance from quality experts and data from the National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR®).

The Golden Gate Bridge is a vital link to the heart of San Francisco. Similarly, the ACC is a bridge to the global cardiovascular community. Recognizing this, the networking component of ACC.13 is another area being enhanced this year. FITs, Cardiac Care Associates (CCAs), international members and members from the 12 Sections of the College will have a greater number of opportunities to meet with experts in their respective fields both inside and outside session walls.

For FITs, the opportunities continue to grow when it comes to meeting and learning from CV experts. For example, attendees interested in congenital heart disease can take part in the Pediatric Cardiology and Adult Congenital Heart Disease Mentoring and Career lunchtime session offered on Monday of the meeting, while those interested in interventional cardiology can take part in the full-day TCT@ACC-i2 Fellows Bootcamp, which will provide tips and tricks for successful cardiac and vascular interventions. New programs on topics such as global health and use of social media will also offer unique opportunities to hear from experts outside the field of CV health.

ACC.13 will celebrate the 10th year of CCAs being recognized as critical members of the cardiac care team. Attendees will have opportunities to brush up on key clinical skills and knowledge, while also developing their roles as clinicians and leaders. CCA members will find more extensive programming with the Cardiac Care Team Research Bootcamp and the TCT@ACC-i2 Cardiac Care Team Spotlight, developed by and for CCAs. In addition, CCAs can take advantage of a joint symposium with the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association and the full-day Pharmacology Program.

Members of the international CV community will also find enhanced offerings in San Francisco. Conquering Healthcare Challenges in the Emerging World will investigate novel strategies as well as shared issues in health care provision in the emerging world with a focus on China, India, Brazil, and Mexico; the 5th Annual Cardiovascular Conference on the Middle East, on Sunday, March 10, will explore CV disease in the context of physician practice in the Middle East. The College is also partnering with 22 international CV societies on the popular International Lunch Time Symposia.

The CV profession can point to very real improvements over the last 6 decades in not only how care is delivered, but in how many lives are saved—a reduction in CV mortality by more than 60%. The ACC's mission is to serve as the place for CV professionals to get what they need to meet the growing demands of cardiology from the latest in cutting-edge innovations, to updates in evidence-based medicine and clinical guidelines, opportunities to fulfill MOC requirements, and more. For ACC.13, the College is indebted to Dr. Miguel Quinones, chair of the Scientific Session, Co-Chairs Drs. Christie Ballantyne, Neal Kleiman and Mark Davies; TCT@ACC-i2 Chair Dr. Gary Mintz, Co-Chair Dr. Cindy Grines, and their committees for the superb planning of this Scientific Session.

The ACC is committed to ensuring that every single member of the cardiac care team has access to the best educational opportunities, the best research, and the best tools for improving quality and patient outcomes. While online education keeps us abreast of the latest developments and various issues, a national face-to-face meeting offers much more: the human connection, with its excitement, complexity, and enriching experience. ACC.13 brings all of these things to one place: San Francisco. Don't miss this opportunity to discover a great city, the latest in CV care, and the people behind the innovations.

The ACC.13 eMeeting Planner App and Online Planner are now available. Search “ACC.13” in your app store to download the app today. For more information, go to:www.accscientificsession.organd click on “Plan Your ACC.13.”