Name: 2026 Cardiology Symposium
Start: 2026-04-17T07:30:00-07:00
End: 2026-04-17T07:30:00-07:00
Location: The Water Tower Inn

2026 Cardiology Symposium

Join us on April 17

RSVP Now

Learning objectives of the symposium:

Understand the diagnosis, management, and risk stratification of cardiovascular conditions like ANOCA, chest pain, and premature ventricular contractions.
Learn how to assess cardiovascular risk using lipid profiles, clinical risk scores, calcium scoring, and the albumin-creatinine ratio.
Gain practical insights into advanced interventions such as the TAVI procedure and electrophysiology through real-life case discussions.

Location

The Water Tower Inn
360 Great Northern Rd, Sault Ste. Marie, ON P6B 4Z7

Date & Time

April 17, 2026
Breakfast at 7:30 AM

Speakers

The symposium brings together a distinguished panel of cardiologists and multidisciplinary specialists who are leaders in clinical care, research, and medical education. Our presenters include interventional and non-interventional cardiologists, electrophysiologists, heart failure specialists, and allied experts from imaging, internal medicine, and preventive cardiology. Together, they will share evidence-based insights, real-world experience, and emerging advances aimed at improving cardiovascular outcomes and patient-centered care

Dr. Rami Abazid

SAH Cardiologist

Cardiologist at SAH
Specialist in Echocardiography,
Cardiovascular
CT and Nuclear Cardiology

Dr. Michael Kutryk

SMH interventional cardiology and chief of cardiology sah

Chief of Cardiology at SAH
Director of Interventional Cardiology Research at St. Michael’s Hospital

Dr. Sarah Woolridge

SAH interventional cardiology

Interventional Cardiologist
at Sault Area Hospital

Dr. Vinay Garg

smh electrophysiology

Cardiac Electrophysiologist

Dr. Jonathan DiFabio

sah Intensivist

Internist with a specialty in Critical Care Medicine

Dr. Alescia Azzola

Endocrinologist

Specialist in
Endocrinology and
Metabolism

Dr. David Berry

SAH Nephrologist

Internist with a specialty in Nephrology

Dr. Gianluigi Bisleri

smh cardiovascular surgeon

Director, Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery, St. Michael’s Hospital .

Dr. Neil Fam

SMH Structural/
interventional cardiologist

Director of the Structural Heart Program at St. Michael’s Hospital and the Schroeder Chair in Structural and Valve Innovation

Dr. Haitham Sakr

sah interventional cardiologist

Interventional Cardiology at Sault Area Hospital

Schedule

7:30 - 8:10	Registration and Breakfast	Speaker
8:10 - 8:20	Welcome	Dr. Kutryk
	Session 1 Room: The Grand Hall Ballroom Session Objectives: Differentiate major causes of chest pain and myocardial ischemia, including PE, obstructive CAD, refractory angina, and ANOCA. Apply guideline-directed diagnostic pathways, incorporating clinical assessment and appropriate non-invasive and invasive testing. Integrate contemporary, patient-centered treatment strategies for chronic stable angina, refractory symptoms, and ANOCA. Select and interpret non-invasive cardiovascular imaging modalities to support accurate diagnosis, risk stratification, and management decisions.
8:20 - 8: 40	CAD Presentation with panel discussion	Dr. DiFabio
8:40 - 9:00	Resistant Chronic Stable Angina Treatment case presentation CAD with panel discussion	Dr. Sakr
9:00 - 9:20	Angina with Non-Obstructive Coronary Arteries (ANOCA): Essential Insights for Clinicians	Dr. Kutryk
9:20 - 9:40	Non-Invasive Imaging in Cardiovascular Disease: When and Which Test to Select	Dr. Abazid
9:40-10:00	Questions with Panel Discussion
10:00 - 10:15	Break
	Session 2 Room: The Grand Hall Ballroom Session Objectives: Define and interpret significant CAD on invasive angiography using anatomic and physiologic criteria. Use lipid markers beyond LDL (e.g., ApoB, TG, Lp(a)) to guide risk assessment and treatment. Choose appropriate risk assessment tools in asymptomatic patients, including risk scores and CAC. Incorporate ACR into cardiovascular risk stratification and preventive care planning.
10:15 - 10:35	Significant CAD on Invasive Angiography: How to Define, Measure, and Interpret	Dr. Woolridge
10:35 - 10:55	Lipid Profile Beyond LDL Cholesterol: When to Assess and What Targets to Aim For	Dr. Azzola
11:15 - 11:35	Cardiovascular Risk Assessment in Asymptomatic Patients: Clinical Risk Scores vs Calcium Scoring	Dr. Abazid
11:35 - 11:55	Albumin-Creatinine Ratio (ACR) and Cardiovascular Risk: What We Need to Know	Dr. Berry
11:55- 12:15	Questions with Panel Discussion
12:15 - 13:00	Lunch - Sponsored by Penumbra	Dr. Woolridge
	Session 3 Room: The Grand Hall Ballroom Session Objectives: Identify high-risk PVCs and non-sustained VT and apply appropriate management strategies. Assess indications and outcomes of minimally invasive and robotic cardiac surgery for optimal patient selection. Apply electrophysiology principles to case-based arrhythmia management in clinical practice. Recognize and manage common and complex pacemaker-related clinical scenarios.
13:00 - 13:20	Premature Ventricular Contractions (PVCs)/Non-sustained VT: When to Be Concerned and What Management Strategies to Consider	Dr. Garg
13:20 - 13:40	The Minimally Invasive & Robotic Revolution in Cardiac Surgery	Dr. Bisleri
13:40 - 14:00	Advances in TAVR Technology and the Importance of Early Referral (Recorded)	Dr. Fam
14:00 - 14:20	EP round: Case presentation.	Dr. Garg
14:20 – 15:00	Interesting Cases From SAH (Pacemaker): Woolridge, Abazid, Kutryk, Garg, Carissa & Katie	GROUP
	The session will present 8–10 interesting and challenging cases from SAH, including the clinical scenario, MCQs on investigations, and the final diagnosis
	Cases may include cardiac tumors, coronary anomalies, amyloidosis, sarcoidosis, and other rare or challenging cardiac conditions
15:00 - 15:45	Questions with Panel Discussion
15:45 – 16:00	Closing Remarks

Scientific Planning Committee 2026

Dr. Rami Abazid - SPC Chair and SAH Cardiologist
Dr. Michael Kutryk - SAH Chief of Cardiology and SAH/SMH Interventional Cardiologist
Dr. Luke Fera - SSM AMA board of directors member and SAH Hospitalist
Dr. Haitham Sakr - SAH Cardiologist

Carissa Di Fabio - Cardiology and Pacemaker RN
Katie Deschamps -Cardiology and Pacemaker RN
Carrie Stewart - Manager, SSM Academic Medical Association
Connie Tassone -Medical Affairs Administrative Assistant

This activity meets the certification criteria of the College of Family Physicians of Canada and has been certified by the Continuing Education and Professional Development Office at NOSM University for up to 6.5 Mainpro+® Certified Activity credits.
This event is an Accredited Group Learning Activity (Section 1) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and approved by the Continuing Education and Professional Development Office at NOSM University. You may claim a maximum of 6.5 hour(s)

2026 Sponsorship

This program has received sponsorship funds in the form of unrestricted education grants from Edwards Lifescience, Boehringer Ingelheim, Abbott, Penumbra, Philips, CLS Therapeutics, Pzifer, Amgen

Join us on April 17

We look forward to hosting you!

RSVP Now

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