Summer 2025 – Letter from President Dmitriy Feldman, MD, FACC, FSCAI, FSVM

Dear Colleagues,

As we move through the year, I want to share a few important updates and highlight some exciting opportunities for involvement in the New York Chapter of the ACC.

Earlier this month, our Advocacy committee submitted formal comments to Chair Ramos and the members of the Senate Labor Committee in support of Senate Bill S.4641, which would prohibit non-compete agreements and certain restrictive covenants. We emphasized how these agreements limit physician mobility, exacerbate burnout, and most importantly, negatively impact patient access to care. Advocacy like this is a central part of our mission, and we are proud to be an important voice for New York cardiologists on critical issues.

Looking ahead, I strongly encourage all our members to consider participating in the yearly ACC Legislative Conference, which will be held October 5–7, 2025, in Washington, DC. This is a cornerstone event for cardiovascular advocacy, offering members the opportunity to engage directly with lawmakers and speak to the issues that directly affect our profession and our patients. It is a unique chance to make your voice heard on Capitol Hill and help shape the future of cardiovascular care.

We were also excited to have one of our most anticipated events of the year, the Annual CVT Symposium, be a success. It took place on June 6, 2025, and featured an early career forum and heart dissection workshop at the New York Seminar and Conference Center. This event brings together members of the entire cardiovascular team, with speakers and panelists that included Hima Vidula, MD, FACC; Meghan Reading Turchioe, PhD, MPH; Srihari S. Naidu, MD, FACC; Kristie Coleman, MPH, RN; Julie Thomas, PA-C, CCDS; David Power, MD, FACC; Preeti Jadhav, MD, FACC; Sonia Henry, MD, FACC, and myself. The annual program helps to educate both practicing CVT members, FITs, early career and senior cardiologists. There is truly something for everyone and we hope you can join us next year.

The Chapter will announce its next Fellow-in-Training (FIT) Representatives soon. This valuable leadership opportunity grants an opportunity for 2-3 fellows to represent FITs from across New York state, contribute to Chapter initiatives, and help guide programming relevant to trainees. If you are an FIT and interested in serving in this role, we encourage you to apply when the opportunity comes again next year.

Lastly, we are currently seeking mentors for our chapter’s Mentorship Program. This is a meaningful way to give back to our community and support the next generation of cardiovascular professionals. If you’re interested in serving as a mentor, we encourage you to get involved and to apply.

Thank you again for your continued dedication to cardiovascular care and to the work we are doing together through NYACC. Looking forward to working together and many accomplishments in the next academic year.

Warm regards,
Dmitriy N. Feldman, MD, FACC, FSCAI
President, New York Chapter ACC

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Spring 2025 – Letter from President Dmitriy Feldman, MD, FACC, FSCAI, FSVM

Dear Colleagues,

As we embrace the tremendous energy and insights from ACC’s Annual Conference, I want to take a moment to thank all of our New York ACC members and guests who joined us at the NYACC Chapter Reception during ACC.25 in Chicago. It was a true pleasure catching up with so many of you — including our incredible Council members, Committee chairs and members, CV Team members and FITs — celebrating the strength and camaraderie of our New York cardiology community. And special thanks to Dr. Roxana Mehran (Vice President of ACC and future President of ACC), and Dr. George Dangas (past President of SCAI) for their incredible support of our Chapter.

We’ve included below one of our favorite photos from the evening and hope it brings back good memories of the warmth and connections shared at the reception.

Looking ahead, we invite all members who are interested in becoming more involved with the Chapter to reach out to us. Whether you’d like to join a committee, take on a leadership role as a Co-Governor, or represent your peers as an FIT representative, there are plenty of opportunities to make a meaningful impact. You can learn more about ways to get involved by visiting our website, and, of course, feel free to contact us anytime at [email protected].

Thank you for your ongoing commitment to the NYACC community — we look forward to a bright future of the Chapter and to a dynamic and collaborative year ahead!

Warm regards,
Dmitriy N. Feldman, MD, FACC, FSCAI, FSVM
President, New York Chapter of the American College of Cardiology

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Winter 2024 – Letter from President Dmitriy Feldman, MD, FACC, FSCAI, FSVM

Dear Colleagues,

Season’s Greetings! As 2024 draws to a close, I am proud to reflect on an incredible year for the New York Chapter of the ACC. It has been a privilege to serve as your President alongside my co-Governor, Dr. Iyer, during our first year in these roles. Together, we’ve embarked on a journey to strengthen our chapter’s foundation and expand our impact, and your support has made this first year truly remarkable.

One of our primary focuses this year was the restructuring and revitalization of our chapter’s committees. This effort included inviting and encouraging greater member participation and ensuring our committees align with the diverse interests and needs of our membership. We reinvigorated the Early Career & FIT and Quality/Innovation Committees, providing fresh opportunities for early career members and FITs for greater growth and collaboration. Additionally, the Programs Planning Committee underwent significant transformation to expand the planning of future events, with the guidance of a dedicated chair and co-chair. The DE&I Task Force and Women in Cardiology (WIC) Committees also saw expansion, reflecting our chapter’s steadfast commitment to fostering inclusivity and representation. After all, the NYS diversity of our medical workforce is reflective of our socially, ethnically, and culturally diverse greater NY patient population. These changes have laid the groundwork for a more dynamic and engaging chapter, with exciting events planned for 2025 to bring these committees’ visions to life.

This year, I had the pleasure of meeting many of you through signature events such as the 2024 Shark Tank competition and the CVT Symposium. We were incredibly proud to see growing engagement and commitment to research and innovation of our early career and FIT members, presenting their research and novel cardiovascular ideas at the full house Shark Tank competition. These events showcased the incredible talent and dedication within our growing cardiovascular community.

Advocacy remains a cornerstone of our mission. In 2024, we amplified our efforts to address critical issues impacting cardiovascular care. Through our chapter’s participation in the ACC Legislative Conference and other advocacy initiatives, we worked to ensure that the voices of our members and patients were heard, including sustainable medicare payment practices, foster telehealth care transformation, maintain access to CV rehabilitation services, streamline prior authorization practices, increase community access to AEDs. As we move into 2025, we remain committed to championing policies that enhance patient access to CV services, improve clinical outcomes and support our professional workforce.

Looking ahead, I am filled with excitement for what’s to come. Our chapter’s mentorship programs, educational & community events, and advocacy initiatives will continue to grow, offering unparalleled opportunities for professional development and collaboration. I encourage all of you to engage with NYACC’s initiatives and share your ideas to help shape the future of our chapter. After all, this is YOUR chapter, and we need your ideas, passion and energy to bring our healthcare delivery mission into the future!

Thank you for your dedication and contributions to the New York Chapter of ACC. Your energy and commitment are what make our community thrive. Wishing you and your families a joyous holiday season and a wonderful New Year.

 

Warm regards,

Dmitriy N. Feldman, MD, FACC, FSCAI, FSVM

President, New York Chapter of the American College of Cardiology

 

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Letter from the Outgoing President, Hima Vidula, MD, MS, FACC

Dear Colleagues,

This column is a bittersweet one: Spring has been quite a busy season for us and there is so much to both applaud and to look forward to this year, but it also brings about the end of my term as your NYACC President.

I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to have served as your President and am also humbled by the privilege to represent New York on ACC’s Board of Governors’ Steering Committee, helping to plan the direction of the College’s future initiatives.

My next role is serving as the New York Cardiology Society’s President, and I will pass the torch of leadership to my co-Governor, Srihari Naidu, MD, FACC, the Medical Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory and Director of the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Program at Westchester Medical Center. Dr. Naidu brings years of expertise and experience in advocacy to the Chapter, so you will be in great hands.

Despite coming aboard during a tumultuous pandemic year, I feel strongly that my co-Governor, Hari, and I were able to embrace the challenge of creating value for you, our members, on virtual platforms when we couldn’t meet in person, be it lobbying for your interests with Capitol Hill staff or launching new programs, like our After Shocks series.

Spring has been quite a busy season for us. It was great to see so many of you in person at our NYACC networking mixer at the ACC Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. The 49th Annual Arvilla Berger Lecture was held on April 26, and Dr. Ajay J. Kirtane spoke about the rationale for revascularization in stable ischemic heart disease (find the full lecture here). In addition, the NYACC DE&I group continues to host its monthly mixers, including a discussion about how to deliver culturally appropriate care. 

In collaboration with the Pennsylvania ACC Chapter, we are very excited about launching our 4-part series titled “Microaggressions, Bias, and Toxicity: Navigating Difficult Interactions in Cardiology,” which is supported by grant funding from the national ACC. These dynamic, interactive workshops are geared toward cardiologists who are women, historically underrepresented and/or are within 10 years of completing training, and they are led by professional coaches. Please sign up here! 

We look forward to seeing you all at our upcoming WIC Networking event at Ophelia on June 21st and our CVT Symposium, Dissection Workshop and Summer Soirée on June 24th, which will both be held in person in Manhattan.

Hima Vidula, MD, MS, FACC

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A Word from the President on COVID-19 and Your Heart – May 2020

English

“My name is Dr. Norma Keller. I am the President of the New York State Chapter of the American College of Cardiology. I wanted to take this moment to encourage you to continue living a heart-healthy lifestyle, which means exercising when you can and eating healthy, even during this most stressful time. Also, I know you may be wary of going to a hospital right now during this pandemic, but I wanted to reassure you that paramedics and our hospital systems can safely take care of you. So if you or a loved one is having symptoms of a heart attack or stroke or if you see someone collapse, it’s very important to call 9-1-1. Time is critical when it comes to your heart! If you have any questions or concerns – or you’ve run out of medications – please don’t hesitate to call your physician. Be well, stay well, New York.”

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Español

“Mi nombre es Dra. Norma Keller. Soy la Presidenta del Capítulo del Estado de Nueva York del American College of Cardiology. Quería aprovechar este momento para alentarlo a continuar viviendo un estilo de vida saludable para el corazón, lo que significa hacer ejercicio cuando pueda y comer sano, incluso durante este momento tan estresante. Además, sé que puede desconfiar de ir a un hospital en este momento durante esta pandemia, pero quería asegurarle que los paramédicos y nuestros sistemas hospitalarios pueden cuidarlo de manera segura. Entonces, si usted o un ser querido tiene síntomas de un ataque cardíaco o un derrame cerebral o si ve que alguien colapsa, es muy importante llamar al 9-1-1. ¡El tiempo es crítico cuando se trata de su corazón! Si tiene alguna pregunta o inquietud, o se ha quedado sin medicamentos, no dude en llamar a su médico. Cuídese y manténgase bien, Nueva York.”

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Norma Keller, MD, FACC
President, New York State Chapter of the American College of Cardiology
Immediate Past President, New York Cardiological Society

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Letter from President Srihari S. Naidu, MD, FACC, FAHA, FSCAI

Dear Colleagues,

Happy New Year! We’re all looking forward to 2023 as we emerge from the pandemic! I have only one year left on my term as President of the New York Chapter of ACC, and then my co-Governor, Dr. Vidula, and I will be leading the transition to Drs. Feldman and Iyer.

This past year has been a lot of fun! When we reorganized the chapter structure a couple years ago, our aim was to deliver more individualized educational offerings that “speak to our members,” to re-launch advocacy programming at the state level, and to promote networking and career development through memorable interactive events. From a networking standpoint, we held such events as FIT Jeopardy and the Young Investigators Competition for our fellows and early-career members, while having the annual Shark Tank for more seasoned cardiologists, both aboard the Cloud Nine Yacht as it sailed down the East River. We also revamped the Annual CVT Symposium by including a live, hands-on pathology heart dissection session, for the first time ever, overseen by dedicated, expert faculty.

Our DEI programming included monthly virtual mixers with guest speakers on a wide range of topics, while our culmination of the partnership with the Pennsylvania Chapter allowed women and other underrepresented minorities to gain a deeper understanding on how to navigate career hurdles toward success. In addition to multiple lectures throughout the year on various topics tied to the individual committee themes, we also continued our After Shocks events – bite-sized webinars on the important trials coming out of the major meetings – pulling in the actual presenter from that meeting together with a key moderator from New York.

These have proven fun and educational as quick “fire side chats” on major trials, and we expect them to continue as regular offerings from the Chapter. Finally, our advocacy team has been busy building relationships with Albany and the Medical Society of the State of New York (MSSNY), joining forces with colleagues in other specialties to help improve the healthcare landscape in the state. We also sent a delegation to Washington DC to meet with our state legislators to advocate on our behalf. For the first time, our advocacy team includes all the different specialties under Cardiology – including electrophysiology and interventional cardiology, heart failure and imaging, as well as general cardiology – so that we can speak as one voice and make sure we are not neglecting important issues that may relate to only a subset of our team.

Srihari S. Naidu, MD, FACC, FAHA, FSCAI
President, NYACC

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Summer 2020

July 16, 2020

Dear Colleagues,

First, I want to thank all of you for taking care of our New York Community through this extraordinary moment in time. As many of us are filled with uncertainty, we are faced with difficult choices in supporting our families, colleagues and patients, but from what I have witnessed time and time again, New Yorkers, and especially its healthcare workers, have a way of only getting stronger.

As we know, COVID-19 continues to threaten our vulnerable patients with cardiovascular disease.  Furthermore, we are learning more and more about how the Coronavirus interacts with the vascular system and manifests in patients both with and without cardiovascular disease. In response to these concerns and to address the public’s fear of accessing medical care, we have made a PSA to remind our community to stay vigilant and emphasize how important it is to recognize and address symptoms…. [Read full column here]

See the full newsletter here.

 

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Summer 2019

July 26, 2019

Dear Colleagues,

It’s almost here! We have been eagerly anticipating taking our annual meeting up a notch, and this year we have a couple of enhancements for our Friday, August 2nd, meeting in Riverhead, NY, in The Hamptons, which is just one week away! First and foremost, we will be holding our first-ever NYACC Shark Tank Competition. We will have two guest speakers start us off. Dr. Regina Druz, an NYACC member and also the Section Chair for the ACC Innovation Section, will be introducing us to the innovation programs within the ACC and how to become more involved. Our second speaker will be Dr. Irfan Khan, the CEO of Circuit Clinical, who will be delivering a talk on physician entrepreneurship. Next, we have seven individuals competing in the main event, which is our Shark Tank Challenge! Drs. Druz and Khan will be joined by Jack Abid – patent attorney, engineer and shareholder in the patent procurement group at Allen, Dyer, Doppelt, & Gilchrist – to serve as our judges/Sharks for the evening. Each contestant will get a chance to pitch an idea or prototype to our judges and audience, and the judges will choose the winners of the competition for cash prizes and the title of… [Read full column here]

See the full newsletter here.

 

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Spring 2019

April 5, 2019

Fellow ACC Colleagues,

It appears the snow is melting and Spring may finally be upon us, but within NY ACC, things have been heating up for quite a while! Having recently returned from the national ACC conference in New Orleans last week, I am once again rejuvenated with all the activities that the New York ACC Chapter and national ACC have ongoing. The conference was terrific with great scientific presentations and networking opportunities, however I think the New York Chapter stole the show this year with our parade in the French Quarter. For those who couldn’t attend, you may be aware that we strive to host a reception at the national ACC meetings each year for state Chapter attendees…[Read full column here]

See the full newsletter here.

 

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Letter from the President – April 2019

Fellow ACC Colleagues,

It appears the snow is melting and that spring may finally be upon us, but within the New York ACC Chapter, things have been heating up for quite a while! Having recently returned from the national ACC conference in New Orleans, I am once again rejuvenated with all the activities that NYACC and national ACC have ongoing.

The conference was terrific, with great scientific presentations and networking opportunities, however I think the New York Chapter stole the show this year with our parade in the French Quarter. For those who couldn’t attend, you may be aware that we strive to host a reception at the national ACC meetings each year for state Chapter attendees. Being that we were in New Orleans this year, we decided to raise the bar a bit, and we were able to obtain our own parade license from the city of New Orleans, commandeered a local brass band and Grand Marshal and we had our own police escort for a second line parade through the streets of the French Quarter.

The event was a huge success and we even had some ACC representation from other states who temporarily applied for NY membership to participate! We have photos of the event on our website and social media accounts, so definitely take a look if you have a chance, and be sure to mark your calendars for ACC.20 in Chicago next year to see what we try to come up with to top this experience…..it’ll be a challenge to say the least!

Within the Chapter we said goodbye to some old friends who have served us well as Board members on the NY ACC Council the last few years and recently welcomed a new crop of Councilors who are eager to get started in representing your interests and helping make the New York Chapter the local professional home for all of the Cardiovascular Team.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our departing Councilors and welcome our new members to the team.

Departing Councilors Incoming Councilors
Dr. Stanley Fernandez Dr. Joshua Schulman-Marcus
Dr. Charles Lowenstein Dr. Farbod Raiszadeh
Dr. Amgad Makaryus Dr. Jason Pacos
Dr. Robert Phang Dr. John Makaryus
Dr. Benjamin Schaefer Dr. Ayman Iskander
Dr. Michael Sassower Dr. Jennifer Lang

Along with seeing old and new faces, our Chapter was once again recognized for all of the good work we have been doing over the last year. At the Board of Governors meeting at ACC.19, our Chapter received the award for work towards improving diversity and inclusion amongst the Chapter and helping to foster a pipeline for diversity entering the field of Cardiology and for creating representation at a state and national level. Through the work of the NYACC Council, led by our Diversity and Inclusion Task Force Chair, Dr. Robert Roswell, we have laid a foundation on which we intend to keep building to foster greater opportunity for involvement within the Chapter and the field of Cardiology.

In addition, NYACC received an Innovation Award, in partnership with the California Chapter of ACC and the Innovation Section of ACC, to create Innovation Hubs at our Chapter meetings. With this award, we have announced our first offering, which is the Inaugural New York ACC Shark Tank Competition to be held in Riverhead, NY in concert with our NYACC Annual Scientific Session on August 2nd and 3rd of this year.

We have had 20+ applications for groups wanting to compete to demonstrate their innovations to the practice of Cardiology in front of a group of judges that will be comprised of ACC Leadership, business leaders and venture capital investors. To make this even more exciting, as we have already scheduled our Scientific Session to be held at the Long Island Aquarium in Riverhead, we will be holding the Shark Tank competition in the Shark Tank room with a wall of sharks swimming in the background as we hear from our competitors! Once again, NYACC does nothing half way!!

While there are many things for us all to be proud of that have occurred over the last year, we have heard from many that provider wellness and burnout remain huge issues that face us all. The ACC and Chapter, while not able to solve all the problems we face, have committed to doing their part to improve the practice of Cardiology for us all. To this end, we are announcing two initiatives that we will be pursuing in the months ahead:

  • Prior Authorization relief: We’ve heard loud and clear that members and their practices are inundated with prior authorization requirements and concerned that these administrative burdens are interfering with their ability to appropriately care for patients. We have had conversations with state and national legislators on this topic and even had some success in pockets with discussions with insurance companies and regulators, but we think we can do more.As announced previously, the ACC has released the Prior Authorization Reporting Tool (PARTool), which is an online tool that takes about 2 minutes to complete. It tracks what procedures are requiring prior authorizations, the outcome of the request and the payers and approvers who are involved. While a small additional step in the process, we are asking all New York members to join together in the month of May and have your administrative staff enter all prior authorizations for your office.With this one month of data, we believe we will have enough data to make our case at the state and national levels to reverse this trend, but we can’t do it without you. Please join us in this important effort. The website for the PARTool is: https://www.acc.org/partool. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me directly or your Councilor from your region, but together we can make a difference!
  • Maintenance of Certification struggles: As I announced previously, the ACC has worked with both the ABIM and the NBPAS to create options for members seeking alternatives to the high stakes 10-year recertification exam and MOC requirements. The national ACC announced at ACC.19 an agreement with ABIM to allow a Continuing Maintenance Pathway that will be allowed in lieu of the 10-year recertification exam.With this process, we now can complete one of five ACCSAP modules per year for 5 years and answer 60 questions from that module in a timed exam with successful completion resulting in maintenance of ABIM certification without needing to take the 10-year exam. While admittedly not free, this program requires purchase of the ACCSAP program which is $1,500 to provide 5 years’ worth of modules ($300 per year) plus $128 fee each year to ABIM for those who wish to maintain their board certification status.For those who do not need ABIM status and wish to use NBPAS or any other credentialing, they can use ACCSAP or any of the other low/no-cost CME options that the College provides to demonstrate ongoing continuing education.

While this is an improvement, I’ve heard loud and clear that there is more work to be done, and I agree. Thus the New York Chapter of the ACC has taken it on as an advocacy effort to lobby our legislators at State and national levels to help remove the costly burdens that continuous education and Board certification place on the profession of Medicine. I encourage you to join with us for lobbying days and the Legislative Conference to ensure our voices are heard as we work to remove the costly burdens that MOC have placed on us without any clear evidence of improved care delivery for the patients we serve. This will not be an easy process, but the tides are in our favor, and again, together we can make a difference.

Finally, I want to spotlight our upcoming offerings for 2019. We have our ever-popular Cardiovascular Team Conference which will be moving back to Manhattan this year at the Wells Fargo Conference Center on Friday June 7, 2019. We have a terrific line-up of speakers planned and our special guest, Tim Atteberry, CEO of the national ACC who will be attending, followed by the well-received Summer Soiree to follow immediately after the conference. Hope to see you in Manhattan for that! Next, combine Cardiologists, The Hamptons and summer and what do you get? New York ACC Scientific Session 2019 of course!! As noted above we will have our Inaugural Shark Tank Competition, Fellows Jeopardy and Scientific Session all occurring in Riverhead, NY, on Friday and Saturday, August 2-3, 2019. This will be one you don’t want to miss!

President Teeters dancing with parade Grand Marshal Darlene Embry

That’s all for now, but please reach out with questions or issues, join a committee, group or task force within the Chapter and/or attend one of our educational conferences! I would love to meet and talk with as many of you as possible to ensure the NYACC is representing your needs and interests!

With warm regards,

J. Chad Teeters, MD, FACC
Upstate Governor | President
New York ACC

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