Tuesday, April 16, 2024
4/16/2024
The ultimate goal of the 31st Annual Vascular Biology and Hypertension (VB&H) Symposium, to be held on campus at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), Birmingham, Alabama on Thursday, June 18, 2020 – Friday, June 19, 2020 is to disseminate knowledge used to reduce morbidity and mortality resulting from hypertension (HTN) and related diseases and to improve the quality of life for patients. Hypertension (HTN) is the most prevalent modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the United States (US) and worldwide (1). To control HTN in the US, implementation of strategies to detect and manage HTN and related comorbidities are critical. A particularly hot current topic, in the wake of the AHA Scientific Statement on Measurement of Blood Pressure in Humans (2), chaired by Paul Muntner (Symposium Co- Director), is blood pressure (BP) measurement. The 2020 VB&H Symposium will feature a Blood Pressure Measurement Workshop (Day 1, June 18) that will provide a Hands-on Skills Building Sessions on how to measure in-office, home and ambulatory BP accurately and educate attendees on contemporary techniques of implantable telemetry in animal models of HTN and how they inform development of treatments for human HTN. In depth discussions of how to implement state-of-the-art treatment strategies to improve BP control in diverse settings will follow the morning Skills Building Sessions and Networking Luncheon. The overall goal of Day 2 (June 19) is to review evidence on the molecular mechanisms of HTN and its comorbidities and link these with novel treatments. Day 2 will include morning and afternoon sessions led by leaders in their field that will: 1) assess the role of immune mechanisms and altered diurnal rhythms in the pathogenesis of HTN and its CVD outcomes; 2) review novel mechanisms linking HTN and its treatment and systemic cholesterol levels with cognitive dysfunction and dementia; and 3) examine the pathogenesis of HTN and CVD in the setting of HIV. The format of the 2020 VB&H Symposium will facilitate interaction of a national audience of senior HTN scientists and clinicians and other healthcare providers with early stage investigators (ESIs), basic, clinical and translational researchers and trainees on all levels (undergraduate and graduate students, medical residents and postdoctoral fellows in basic, clinical and population science) from diverse backgrounds. It will feature 23 Participating Symposium Faculty (13 external, 10 internal, 3 session chairs), with participation from these speakers and engaged UAB faculty in the BP Measurement Workshop. The 2020 VB&H Symposium is highly significant because it will introduce cutting-edge multidisciplinary science on HTN and CVD to a diverse audience of national healthcare providers, scientists and trainees. This shared knowledge will be readily translatable to improving HTN detection and management and in preventing CVD in this underserved region of the US as well as across the US.
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