Schedule

March 21-24, 2024
|
Negril, Jamaica
|
18 CE Hours

Thursday, March 21

8:00 - 8:50 am

Collapse is a non specific, emergency presentation with a non-exhaustive list of possible causes. This lecture will walk through an approach to a collapsing patient. Causes of management of collapse will be discussed using case examples and practical tips for recognising and refining the cause of collapse will be discussed as well as key aspects of the emergency management of these cases.

by Dr. Laura Cole
9:00 - 9:50 am

Atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia are two common arrhythmias in cardiovascular emergency patients. While AF is frequently associated with significant cardiac disease, VT may occur as part of many cardiac and non-cardiac emergencies. Acute therapies for AF and VT are familiar entities, but what happens when the arrhythmias don’t respond as expected? Analysis and next steps.

by Dr. Rebecca Stepien
9:50 - 10:10 am
Break / Visit the Exhibit Hall
10:10 - 11:00 am

We know that pulmonary hypertension is common and treatable but in its acute form, it can be difficult to distinguish from congestive heart failure. This issue is compounded by the overlapping signalments of the typical dog with myxomatous valve disease – your patient may have both diseases. This talk will cover diagnosis and therapy of acute PH in dogs and tips for differentiating this disease from others with similar presentations.

by Dr. Rebecca Stepien
11:10 am - 12:00 pm

There are a variety of respiratory complications that can occur secondary to trauma. These include hypoxia secondary to ventilation/perfusion mismatch and shunting from pulmonary contusions, atelectasis, pneumothorax or hemothorax, hypoventilation due to pleural space disease, pain from rib fractures and flail chest segments, and neurologic causes of hypoventilation. The lecture will cover patient monitoring, diagnostics, and treatment.

by Dr. Lori Waddell
12:10 - 1:00 pm

Sponsored by:

RESIDENT LEVEL SESSION (Included with Registration)

This review will discuss cardiovascular physiology and how this physiology may be affected by commonly-used medications for therapy of congestive heart failure. Evidence-based and non-evidence-based use and dosing of common CHF medications will be discussed.

by Dr. Rebecca Stepien
1:00 - 1:45 pm
Lunch Break
1:45 - 2:35 pm

“Campfire stories”, clinical truisms that many of us use in our daily practice, sometimes have a basis in fact or even published evidence, and sometimes really are fairy tales. This talk will address some common true and not-so-true stories we tell while managing emergency and critically ill cardiovascular patients.

by Dr. Rebecca Stepien
2:45 - 3:35 pm

Keeping the acute congestive heart failure cat alive until tomorrow usually involves judicious use of medications and physical management of effusions and oxygenation. This talk will discuss best practices for the stabilization of the acute CHF cat in the absence of an echocardiographic diagnosis.

by Dr. Rebecca Stepien
3:35 - 3:55 pm
Break / Visit the Exhibit Hall
3:55 - 4:45 pm

Blood pressure measurement is a fundamental aspect of emergency and critical care. This lecture will discuss the traditional non invasive methods of blood pressure measurement as well as invasive blood pressure measurement highlighting the utility and limitations of the different measurement techniques. Through practical examples the lecture will discuss how to interpret the measurements in light of the clinical scenario.

by Dr. Laura Cole
4:45 - 5:15 pm

Hypertension is often seen in hospitalized patient, whereas hypertensive emergencies are less frequently identified, this may be in part due to failure of recognising the clinical signs associated with hypertensive emergency. Through a case discussion this lecture will discuss when to suspect a hypertensive emergency and what diagnostics tests available in the emergency room are useful in supporting a diagnosis of a hypertensive emergency.

by Dr. Laura Cole
5:15 - 5:45 pm

Hypertension is commonly seen with a variety of clinical conditions and there are published guidelines on when to use anti-hypertensive agents. This lecture will discuss what we know; when to treat, the different mechanism of action of anti-hypertensive agents and discuss the different clinical conditions and clinical scenarios which may affect which anti-hypertensive agent we choose, highlighting gaps in our understanding of anti-hypertensive therapy.

by Dr. Laura Cole
6:00 - 7:00 pm
Welcome Cocktail Hour

Friday, March 22

8:00 - 8:50 am

Cardiorespiratory emergencies are one of the most commonly encountered emergencies seen in the emergency department. These emergencies often present unstable and require rapid diagnosis and management in a stress free manner. This lecture will discuss how alongside a capsular history and triage examination point-of-care ultrasound can help streamline management of these unstable patients.

by Dr. Laura Cole
8:55 - 9:45 am

This talk will address common cardiovascular disease findings that may be confused with those of other diseases in the emergency rooms. Tips to identify the heart as the main concern in ER and ICU patients will be included.

by Dr. Rebecca Stepien
9:45 - 10:05 am
Break Sponsored By
Caniplas PNG
10:05 - 10:55 am

Shock is a common presenting complaint in the emergency room. If it is not recognised and treated promptly can be associated with a mortality. This lecture will discuss the fundamentals of shock, using a case-based approach it will cover the clinical signs associated with shock, and how these clinical findings and ancillary tests including point-of-care ultrasound may be used to distinguish the different types of shock and their management.

by Dr. Laura Cole
11:00 - 11:30 am

Cardiac biomarkers have lived up the hype in some cases and fallen short in others. This brief summary will highlight current clinical applications of commonly assessed biomarkers in cats and dogs.

by Dr. Rebecca Stepien​
11:30 am - 12:00 pm

Cardiogenic pulmonary edema occurs due to increased pulmonary capillary hydrostatic pressure. Non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema (NCPE) can be caused by increased permeability as is seen with ARDS as well mixed cause edema that can be seen with neurogenic pulmonary edema and negative pressure pulmonary edema. This lecture will cover the pathophysiology, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of NCPE.

by Dr. Lori Waddell
12:10 - 1:00 pm

Sponsored by:

RESIDENT LEVEL SESSION (Included with Registration)

Blood pressure and tissue perfusion require adequate vascular tone. Vascular tone is controlled by both local and systemic modulators. This lecture will give an overview of vascular anatomy and physiology, discussing the different modulators of vascular tone and their receptors before discussing how these modulators receptors can act as targets for vasoactive agents.

by Dr. Laura Cole
1:00 pm
Lunch | Afternoon Off!

Saturday, March 23

Enjoy the day off!

Sunday, March 24

7:30 - 8:20 am

Brachycephalic breeds of dog are precious to some, but dreaded by others in the veterinary emergency and critical care arena. Breed specific anomalies predispose brachycephalics to inherent problems of eyes, skin, pulmonary, gastrointestinal and reproduction. This lecture will focus on aerodigestive diseases of brachycephalic dogs and how we can manage them in the emergency room, anesthesia, surgery, and post-operative care.

by Dr. Elisa Mazzaferro
8:30 - 9:00 am

Myxomatous valve disease is incredibly common and familiar to most veterinarians in its non- emergency and emergency presentations. This talk will briefly review recent areas of interest and discuss typical emergency complications of this common disease.

by Dr. Rebecca Stepien
9:00 - 9:30 am

Dilated cardiomyopathy is a familiar disease in the canine population but diagnosis of DCM has increased in frequency since the increased use of non-standard diets in dogs. This brief review will cover differences between “regular” DCM and diet-associated DCM, and discuss emergency management of these cases.

by Dr. Rebecca Stepien
9:30 - 9:45 am
Break / Visit the Exhibitors
9:45 - 11:45 am

Animals who present with pulmonary hypertension, congestive heart failure, supraventricular or ventricular dysrhythmias, hyper- and hypotension can create chaos in a veterinary emergency and critical care setting. This panel discussion with topic experts will discuss challenging cases and how to manage them. Take your pulse, get an adrenaline rush and sit back to learn how to help animals with cardiovascular problems.

by Drs. Elisa Mazzaferro, Laura Cole, Rebecca Stepien, & Lori Waddell