As healthcare professionals, the American Heart Association (AHA) is crucial in advancing cardiovascular health through research, education, advocacy, and community engagement. Healthcare professionals rely on its guidelines and certifications to provide high-quality care and contribute to efforts to reduce the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases.

In 1925, the AHA held its first Scientific Sessions meeting, where scientists and healthcare professionals learned about the latest developments. The meeting, held every year since, except for during World War II, has grown to become the largest annual cardiovascular meeting in the United States and a leading international destination for the cardiovascular health community. The conference is a global event for advancements in cardiovascular science and medicine and features scientific discovery and practice-changing educational content.

Scientific Sessions 2023 was held November 11-13 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and focused on the latest innovations in cardiovascular disease. Specialty areas for the conference included: 

• Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, Vascular Biology

• Cardiac Development, Structure and Function

• Cellular Biology

• Early Innovators Spotlight

• Genetics and Genomics

• Late-Breaking Basic Science abstracts

• Metabolism & Physiology

The full Scientific Sessions 2023 program can be accessed here, with the below sampling of conference highlights:  

• Late-breaking science: AI at the bedside - AI-powered stethoscope, speech analysis for HF, interpreting ECGs with AI and prognostic tool for predicting MACE.

• AI and Scientific Publications- Perspective of Journal Editors: Joint Session of JAMA and Circulation Journals 

• Acoramidis - New data from the ATTRibute - CM study provided insight into the effects of acoramidis in patients with transthyretin amyloidosis cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM)

• Lowering blood pressure reduces the risk of dementia, American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2023, Late-Breaking Science Abstract 

• ATVB Journal Highlights: A focus on drug opportunities, research, and discovery in thrombosis

• Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes Quality Improvement 2.0: An AHA Journal Session

• Circulation Research: COVID-19 and the Cardiovascular System - An AHA Journal Session

• Moving Towards Social Justice in Cardiovascular Health: A JAHA Journal Session 

• Circulation: Innovation in Cardiovascular Science and Medicine: An AHA Journal Session 

• Stiff Competition – Inflammation and Fibrosis as Therapeutic Targets in Heart Failure: Circulation: Heart Failure and Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging Journals 

• New Challenges in the Cardiovascular Imaging: Diagnosis, Risk Stratification and Patient Management (AHA Joint Session with Japanese Circulation Society) 

• Henning Lecture Session: Atrial Fibrillation: Novel Mechanisms Unveil Future Therapeutic Approaches (featuring ATVB and Circulation Research; CS.ME.1037)

• What is the Future for Blood Pressure Clinical Practice Guidelines? - A Hypertension Journal Session 

The latest publications from the AHA Scientific Sessions 2023 will be available in the AHA Journals. 

Abstracts from Scientific Sessions Conference are published in Circulation and can be found here.

Scientific Sessions on Demand

Weren’t you able to attend the conference in person? No problem. The AHA Scientific Sessions 2023 is now available for purchase on demand.  AHA Members and non-members can access the latest cardiovascular and brain health science anytime, anywhere, and earn CE. Access to online sessions lets you stay current digitally with educational content matching your interests. Learn whenever, wherever – virtually.

#AHA23 offers its global audience a wealth of new cardiovascular clinical and scientific updates through Late-Breaking Science and Featured Science sessions, debates, and hot-topic discussions. Access all the education, data, and expert perspectives from the meeting — online availability starts late November 2023 and through October 2024!

You may have noticed a new look and feel when accessing the AHA website to find or sign up for a class. That’s because Atlas, the AHA’s training and education platform, was launched earlier this year in May. Atlas is a global, digital solution that supports the AHA Training Network, including training centers, training sites, instructors, and students worldwide. The AHA Atlas digital platform will serve as students and instructors' resuscitation training resource hub. Atlas replaced AHA’s previous CPRverify.org and the Global Connector platforms. 

Atlas centralizes all training needs in one location. Students can use Atlas to: 

• Search for classes

• Claim course completion

• Download AHA certificates (BLS, ACLS, PALS)

Instructors and Training Centers can verify completed training, manage class rosters, and access course information and tools. Atlas also added information fields to the Class Management portion to help manage training and the student experience. The AHA has a network of 400,000 instructors delivering lifesaving training worldwide.