Harvard Boston Sports Cardiology Summit 2026

Athlete cardiovascular care requires clinicians to distinguish training-related adaptation from disease while considering the consequences of restricting sport. The Boston Sports Cardiology Summit reviews this balance through ECG interpretation, arrhythmia assessment, cardiovascular imaging, coronary risk, and exercise testing. Its scope includes competitive and recreational athletes, older endurance participants, children, and military or tactical populations. Case discussions explore clearance, restriction, and return-to-play decisions alongside shared decision-making and athlete safety. This material is relevant to cardiology and sports medicine clinicians seeking a broad clinical review. The learning objectives, faculty roster, and supplied topic outline below help define the content and its limits.

Meeting: September 25–26, 2026, Fairmont Copley Plaza, Boston. Offered by Massachusetts General Hospital, with course directors J. Sawalla Guseh, MD, and Katie Stewart, MS, NP, FACC. English-language program.

Program and recording scope: The supplied Topics outline below differs in some session titles and ordering from the published conference agenda. It is retained as listed and should not be treated as a verified recording inventory. Faculty are listed separately without assigning speakers to unmatched titles. Coverage of panels, audience participation, and the live CPET demonstration is not confirmed. The original provider’s 60-day recording access, registration, accounts, and interactive services are not included with this purchase.

Learning Objectives

1. Apply contemporary national and international guidelines to cardiovascular evaluation of competitive and recreational athletes.
2. Differentiate physiological athletic cardiac remodeling from pathological cardiac conditions.
3. Interpret athlete-specific ECG findings and recognize patterns requiring further evaluation.
4. Assess athletes with atrial fibrillation, PVCs, and ventricular arrhythmias and develop evidence-based return-to-play strategies.
5. Utilize echocardiography, cardiac MRI, and cardiac CT in the evaluation of athletes.
6. Evaluate coronary risk in endurance and masters athletes using clinical assessment, coronary calcium scoring, and plaque characteristics.
7. Incorporate cardiopulmonary exercise testing into clinical assessment.
8. Evaluate wearable technologies and remote monitoring data.
9. Apply shared decision-making to clearance, restriction, and return-to-play decisions.
10. Recognize cardiovascular issues affecting female, pediatric, transitioning, military, and tactical athletes.
11. Address cardiovascular adaptations to extreme environments.
12. Consider the psychological consequences of athletic restriction and clearance decisions.
13. Develop athlete safety programs involving emergency action plans and AED availability.
14. Translate contemporary sports cardiology research into practical clinical care.

Faculty Listed for the Course

• James Sawalla Guseh
• Katie Stewart
• Jonathan Kim
• Beth Dineen
• Rachel Lampert
• Jonathan Drezner
• Sanjay Sharma
• Eugene Chung
• Christine Albert
• Brad Petak
• Kim Harmon
• Jeff Hsu
• Aaron Baggish
• Ben Levine
• Sheela Krishnan
• Satya Reddy
• Nathaniel Moulson
• Rory Weiner
• Albree Tower-Rader
• Tim Churchill
• Matthew Martinez
• James Januzzi
• Ankit Shah
• Ben Levin
• Andre LaGerche
• Neal K. Lakdawala
• Mark Haigney
• Emily Saul
• Peter Horsman
• Tamana Singh
• Aubrey Grant
• Caroline Murphy
• Silvana Molossi
• Peter Dean
• Keri Shafer
• Alfred Danielian
• Eli Friedman

Topics

• Day 1: Friday, September 25, 2026

  • Welcome & Course Overview

  • Contemporary Athlete Evaluation: Bridging Guidelines, Gray Zones, and Real-World Practice

  • Military & Tactical Athletes: An Update on the Guidelines

  • Sports Participation in Athletes with Arrhythmias: Key Updates from the 2024 HRS Clinical Guidelines

  • Updated International ECG Criteria in Athletes (2025): What’s New and What Matters

  • Athlete ECG Interpretation: Pitfalls, Patterns, and High-Risk Findings

  • Interactive ECG Review: You Make the Call (Audience Participation)

  • Break

  • Sudden Cardiac Death in Athletes: Epidemiology, Risk Signals & Prevention

  • Sudden Cardiac Arrest in Athletes: NCAA Data in Context

  • Pre-Participation Screening & Prevention: Lessons from the Sidelines

  • Wearables & Remote Monitoring in Athlete Care

  • Atrial Fibrillation in Athletes: Mechanisms, Management & Return to Play

  • PVCs & Ventricular Arrhythmias in Athletes: When to Reassure, When to Worry

  • Arrhythmia Case Presentations & Panel Discussion

  • Break for Lunch

  • Lunch and Learn: Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing in the Evaluation of Athletes – Live Demonstration & Clinical Interpretation Pearls

  • RACER I & II: What Marathon Data Tell Us About Coronary Risk

  • Coronary Disease in the Masters Endurance Athlete: CAC, Plaque, Physiology & Prognosis

  • Clinical Decision-Making in Masters Athletes With CAD

  • Medical Therapy, Revascularization & Performance: What Actually Matters for Athletes

  • Cardiac Rehabilitation to Competitive Return: Re-Training the Masters Athlete With CAD

  • Beyond the Peak: CPET Thresholds in Clinical Practice

  • CAD Case Presentations & Panel Discussion

  • Break

  • Echocardiography in the Athlete: Beyond Wall Thickness

  • The Athletic Aorta: Remodeling & Risk

  • Cardiac MRI & CT in Athletic Risk Assessment

  • The Right Ventricle Under Stress: Imaging ARVC in Athletes

  • Adjourn

• Day 2: Saturday, September 26, 2026

  • Welcome & Reflections

  • Sports Cardiology Jeopardy

  • Genetic Cardiomyopathies in Sport: Testing, Interpretation, and Eligibility

  • Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: Risk Stratification and Shared Decision-Making

  • Borderline Phenotypes in Athletes: Early Cardiomyopathy or Extreme Adaptation?

  • Break

  • Interactive Case Competition: Would You Clear This Athlete? Panel Discussion

  • The Psychological Load of Athletic Clearance, Restriction & Return to Play

  • Patient Capstone: From No Sports at All to the Top of the World

  • Break for Lunch

  • Lunch & Learn

  • Female Athletes Across the Lifespan: Performance, Pregnancy & Cardiovascular Risk

  • Extremes of Exercise: Space, Altitude & Cardiovascular Adaptation

  • Disparities by the Numbers

  • Operational Cardiology in the Armed Forces: Readiness & Return to Duty

  • Case Presentations and Panel Discussion: Clearance, Equity & Decision-Making Across Special Populations

  • Break

  • The Pediatric Athlete: Growth, Remodeling & Red Flags

  • Clearance, Restriction & Risk in the Young Athlete

  • Transitioning the Athlete to Adult Care: Where Things Break Down

  • Community-Based Athlete Safety at Scale: Advocacy in Action

  • Emergency Action Plans & AED Deployment: What Actually Saves Lives

  • Adjourn