The symposium is targeted toward health care professionals. More than 2,600 Americans die each day of heart disease, according to the American Heart Association, and claims more lives each year than the next seven leading causes of death combined.
Advancements continue to be made in the research of cardiovascular disease.
The keynote speaker will be Hani N. Sabbah M.D., Ph.D., director of cardiovascular research laboratories at the Henry Ford Heart and Vascular Institute in Detroit. The focus of his research is heart failure. Dr. Sabbah is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, American College of Chest Physicians and American Heart Association Councils on Circulation and Arteriosclerosis. The UNMC Department of Pathology and Microbiology and Abbott Diagnostics will offer information about a relatively new screening test for heart disease and arteriosclerosis that will soon become standard. Sam Pirruccello, M.D., director of the Nebraska Health System specialty laboratory, said the test requires a simple blood draw and evaluates levels of an amino acid, called homocysteine, that can signify risks associated with heart disease.