Ralph Brindis and I just got back from 4 days in Stockholm, Sweden, for the European Society of Cardiology’s 2010 annual meeting (view the CardioSource coverage). ESC is one of the biggest CV meetings in the world because it’s a very good scientific meeting. It’s also easier and cheaper to get to than the USA from not just Europe, but the Mideast, the Balkans, northern Africa, and much of Asia.  

That said, the ACC was a mega-presence at ESC. I’d guess nearly a thousand US cardiologists attend. Our officers and spokesmen were quoted in almost all of the news coming out at this year's ESC meeting. The ACC was everywhere there. Our CVN (CardioSource Video Network) video production team was incredible in proving nearly live coverage back to US members, and ACCEL recorded many live interviews. Brindis presided over a truly grand reception and dinner honoring CV leaders from around the world in the grand room at which many Nobel dinners have been held. JACC journal editors (Tony Demaria, Jagat Narula, Spencer King) were also omni-present.

Mega Coverage!
Moreover, Brindis, and President-elect David Holmes, immediate past president Fred Bove and many other ACC leaders and past presidents were on hand to help the press with their stories. We got mega-coverage! Here are some highlights in which ACC was specifically named as a source:

• Wall Street Journal, Race On to Prevent Clots, Sept. 1: "We are getting pretty close to the Holy Grail of finding a replacement for warfarin," said Ralph Brindis (“ACC President”)
  
  
• Wall Street Journal, Plavix Rival Gains From Studies, August 30: "You can't do a genetic test on an acute patient and get a result in time to change your mind," said Spencer King (“ACC past president”).
  
  
• Bloomberg, AstraZeneca’s Brilinta Doesn’t Require Gene Testing, Study Says, August 29: “While its low price may make the generic version, known chemically as clopidogrel, the treatment of choice, confirmation that newer medicines don’t require gene testing may also influence doctors,” Alfred Bove, immediate past president of the American College of Cardiology, told journalists…. “Doctors may decide against genetic tests anyway, especially for patients who need to take a drug immediately and can’t wait weeks for test results, said David Holmes (“president-elect of the American College of Cardiology").
  
  
• Reuters, No clear winner in 3-horse anticoagulant race, Sept. 1: "Patients and physicians have been begging for a warfarin replacement," according to Ralph Brindis, president of the American College of Cardiology.
  
  
• Reuters, Novartis, Portola heart drug moves to final tests, August 30: Doctors said the rapid reversibility of elinogrel and its availability in intravenous form was attractive....  "This is definitely worth pursuing," said Douglas Weaver ("past president of the ACC").
  
  
• MedPage Today, ESC: ECG not much help for screening athletes’ hearts, August 28: While hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the most common cause of sudden death in competitive soccer players, when pro players were screened ... the positive results all turned out to be false positives....  Alfred Bove, MD ("past president of the American College of Cardiology") told MedPage Today in an interview that the findings are plausible but at the same time pose a conundrum for clinical practice.