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