MER Cardiology & Pulmonology for Primary Care 2026

Cardiology • Pulmonology • Primary Care | June 26–28, 2026

Strengthen your practical approach to common cardiovascular and pulmonary disorders with MER Cardiology & Pulmonology for Primary Care 2026, a clinically focused educational program organized by Medical Education Resources (MER).

The conference was held June 26–28, 2026, at The Westin Nashville in Nashville, Tennessee.

Designed primarily for office-based primary care professionals, the curriculum integrates important updates in cardiovascular disease prevention, hypertension, coronary artery disease, heart failure, arrhythmias, acute coronary syndromes, asthma, respiratory infections, COPD, lung cancer screening, and pulmonary nodules.

The course emphasizes practical clinical decision-making, current guidelines, diagnostic evaluation, risk assessment, treatment selection, and evidence-based management strategies that can be applied in everyday patient care.

Course Details

• Course: Cardiology & Pulmonology for Primary Care
• Provider: Medical Education Resources – MER
• Year: 2026
• Dates: June 26–28, 2026
• Venue: The Westin Nashville
• Location: Nashville, Tennessee
• Primary Focus: Cardiology & Pulmonology
• Additional Focus: Internal Medicine / Primary Care
• Language: English

Course Overview

Cardiovascular and respiratory conditions account for a substantial proportion of problems encountered in adult primary care.

Patients may present with:

• Cardiovascular risk factors
• Hyperlipidemia
• Hypertension
• Chest pain
• Suspected coronary artery disease
• Palpitations
• Atrial fibrillation
• Heart failure
• Wheezing
• Chronic cough
• Shortness of breath
• Recurrent respiratory infections
• COPD
• Pulmonary nodules

Primary care clinicians must be able to identify high-risk patients, select appropriate diagnostic tests, initiate evidence-based treatment, and recognize when urgent intervention or specialist referral is required.

MER Cardiology & Pulmonology for Primary Care 2026 brings these cardiovascular and pulmonary topics together within one clinically focused program.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this program, participants should be better able to:

• Implement lifestyle interventions and current lipid/cholesterol recommendations for prevention of coronary artery disease (CAD).
• Explain contemporary concepts in the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension.
• Select an appropriate diagnostic work-up for patients with suspected CAD.
• Apply cardiovascular risk-assessment strategies.
• Select appropriate cardiovascular tests based on clinical presentation and risk.
• Apply case-based reasoning to common cardiovascular conditions.
• Implement evidence-based treatment strategies for heart failure.
• Review contemporary diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to arrhythmias and atrial fibrillation.
• Evaluate patients presenting with acute chest pain.
• Understand the role of pharmacologic therapy in acute coronary syndromes.
• Diagnose and manage patients with asthma.
• Apply evidence-based treatment strategies to common respiratory infections.
• Review contemporary management of COPD.
• Apply current approaches to lung cancer screening.
• Evaluate and manage incidentally detected pulmonary nodules.

MER Cardiology & Pulmonology for Primary Care 2026 Course Content

Cardiology

Primary & Secondary Prevention of Coronary Artery Disease

Cardiovascular prevention begins well before a patient develops symptomatic coronary disease.

This session reviews contemporary strategies for reducing cardiovascular risk through lifestyle intervention and appropriate medical therapy.

Topics Include

• Primary prevention of CAD
• Secondary prevention of CAD
• Cardiovascular risk assessment
• AHA/ACC lipid guidance
• Cholesterol management
• HDL cholesterol
• Metabolic syndrome
• Obesity
• Lifestyle modification
• Exercise
• Cardiac rehabilitation
• Pharmacologic therapy
• Cardiovascular risk calculators

Cardiovascular Risk Reduction

A practical prevention strategy may be summarized as:

Risk Assessment → Lifestyle Modification → Lipid Management → Control of Comorbidities → Pharmacologic Prevention When Appropriate

The course reviews how these principles can be translated into everyday primary care.

Hypertension

Hypertension remains one of the most important modifiable cardiovascular risk factors.

This session reviews current concepts in diagnosis and treatment, including major U.S. and European guideline recommendations.

Topics Include

• Definition and diagnosis of hypertension
• Blood pressure treatment thresholds
• Blood pressure goals
• 2017 AHA/ACC hypertension guidance
• 2024 ESC hypertension guidance
• Initial pharmacologic therapy
• Combination treatment
• Resistant hypertension
• Hypertension in diabetes
• Hypertension in older adults
• Hypertension in renal disease

Resistant Hypertension

Patients whose blood pressure remains elevated despite appropriate therapy require systematic reassessment.

Important considerations may include:

• Medication adherence
• Measurement technique
• Drug combinations
• Secondary causes
• Renal disease
• Lifestyle factors
• Contributing medications

Identifying the reason for persistent hypertension can improve both safety and cardiovascular outcomes.

Work-Up of Patients with Suspected CAD

The evaluation of possible coronary artery disease requires both risk assessment and appropriate test selection.

Topics Include

• CAD risk factors
• Cardiovascular risk models
• Clinical evaluation
• ECG
• Echocardiography
• Nuclear cardiac imaging
• CT imaging
• Newer imaging modalities
• Appropriate Use Criteria – AUC
• Biomarkers
• Electron-beam CT concepts
• Test selection

CAD Evaluation in Special Populations

The session also considers suspected coronary disease in:

• Women
• Patients with diabetes
• Older adults

These populations may have different clinical presentations and risk profiles that influence diagnostic decisions.

Selecting the Appropriate Cardiac Test

Not every patient with possible CAD requires the same diagnostic study.

A practical framework is:

Clinical Presentation → Pretest Risk → ECG → Functional/Anatomic Testing When Appropriate → Interpretation → Management

The course reviews how tests such as echocardiography, nuclear imaging, and CT can be incorporated appropriately.

Heart Failure

Heart failure management has evolved considerably with the introduction of multiple evidence-based therapies.

This session provides a clinically focused review of contemporary heart failure diagnosis and treatment.

Topics Include

• Etiologies of heart failure
• Heart failure stages
• ACC/AHA guidance
• HFrEF
• HFpEF
• Biomarkers
• NT-proBNP
• Referral considerations
• ACE inhibitors
• ARBs
• ARNI therapy
• Beta blockers
• Mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists
• SGLT2 inhibitors
• Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators – ICD
• Cardiac resynchronization therapy – CRT
• Acute decompensated heart failure
• Hospital readmissions

HFrEF & HFpEF

The curriculum distinguishes between:

Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction – HFrEF

Evidence-based treatment can involve multiple complementary medication classes and selected device therapies.

Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction – HFpEF

Diagnosis and management require attention to comorbidities, clinical phenotype, symptoms, and contemporary treatment evidence.

Understanding these distinctions is essential when developing an individualized treatment strategy.

Arrhythmias & Atrial Fibrillation

Palpitations and abnormal rhythms are commonly encountered in both primary care and emergency settings.

This session provides a structured approach to their evaluation.

Topics Include

• Types of arrhythmias
• Common symptoms
• Palpitations
• Diagnostic assessment
• When to treat
• When to refer
• When hospital admission is appropriate
• Atrial fibrillation
• Stroke-risk assessment
• Anticoagulation
• Warfarin
• Direct oral anticoagulants
• Rate control
• Rhythm control
• Ventricular arrhythmias

Atrial Fibrillation

Management of atrial fibrillation involves several important clinical decisions:

Hemodynamic Stability → Stroke Risk → Anticoagulation → Rate vs Rhythm Control → Referral / Follow-Up

The course helps clinicians incorporate these steps into practical patient management.

Acute Coronary Syndromes: The Patient with Acute Chest Pain

Acute chest pain is a high-risk presentation requiring rapid clinical assessment.

This session reviews evaluation across:

• Primary care
• Urgent care
• Emergency medicine

Topics Include

• Initial assessment
• Diagnostic evaluation
• Acute treatment
• Follow-up
• ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction – STEMI
• Non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction – NSTEMI
• Acute coronary syndromes
• Pharmacologic therapy
• Percutaneous coronary intervention – PCI
• Adjunctive medical therapy
• Post-ACS follow-up

Acute Chest Pain Assessment

A practical approach involves rapidly answering several questions:

Could This Be ACS? → Is the Patient Stable? → ECG/Biomarkers? → Emergency Referral? → Revascularization/Medical Therapy?

Rapid recognition of high-risk features is essential.

Cardiology Cases

The program includes challenging cardiovascular case discussions designed to integrate knowledge from previous lectures.

Case-based learning helps connect:

Presentation → Differential Diagnosis → Diagnostic Testing → Risk Assessment → Treatment

The cardiovascular cases reinforce practical clinical reasoning rather than isolated memorization.

Pulmonology

Asthma

Asthma remains a common chronic respiratory disorder across adult primary care.

This lecture reviews the disease from diagnosis through management of difficult-to-control cases.

Topics Include

• Medical impact of asthma
• Airway inflammation
• Airway remodeling
• Diagnosis
• Severity assessment
• Treatment goals
• Risk factors for mortality
• Acute asthma treatment
• Long-term management
• Difficult-to-control asthma

Asthma Management

Asthma treatment should be adapted according to:

• Symptoms
• Exacerbation history
• Disease severity
• Lung function
• Treatment adherence
• Risk factors
• Response to therapy

Patients with persistent symptoms despite appropriate treatment require reassessment for adherence, triggers, comorbid disease, and alternative diagnoses.

Controversies in the Treatment of Common Respiratory Infections

Respiratory infections account for a substantial proportion of ambulatory medical visits and antibiotic prescriptions.

This session reviews appropriate evidence-based treatment.

Topics Include

• Acute bronchitis
• Chronic bronchitis
• Community-acquired pneumonia
• Hospital-acquired pneumonia
• Pneumonia Severity Index
• Hospitalization decisions
• Appropriate antibiotic use
• Cost-effective antimicrobial treatment
• Antimicrobial resistance
• Current treatment guidelines

Respiratory Infections & Antibiotic Stewardship

An important component of primary care management is determining whether antibiotics are actually indicated.

A practical framework includes:

Diagnosis → Severity → Bacterial vs Non-Bacterial Considerations → Need for Antibiotics → Drug Selection → Follow-Up

This approach supports effective treatment while reducing unnecessary antimicrobial use.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease – COPD

This session provides a contemporary review of COPD diagnosis and management.

Topics Include

• COPD definition
• Pathophysiology
• Early detection
• Early intervention
• Risk reduction
• Smoking-related lung disease
• Current therapeutic management
• New treatment modalities
• Inhaled corticosteroids
• Domiciliary oxygen
• Lung volume reduction surgery

Comprehensive COPD Management

Effective COPD care may involve:

• Smoking cessation
• Vaccination
• Bronchodilator treatment
• Appropriate inhaled corticosteroid use
• Pulmonary rehabilitation
• Exacerbation prevention
• Oxygen therapy in selected patients
• Advanced therapies for appropriately selected disease

Management should be tailored to symptoms, exacerbation risk, lung function, and comorbidities.

Lung Cancer Screening & Pulmonary Nodules

The identification of pulmonary nodules is increasingly common because of widespread CT use and lung cancer screening.

This session reviews:

• Lung cancer screening recommendations
• Patient selection
• Pulmonary nodule evaluation
• Incidental pulmonary nodules
• Imaging follow-up
• Cancer-risk assessment
• Fleischner Society recommendations
• American College of Chest Physicians guidance
• Definitive evaluation
• Management strategies

Lung Cancer Screening

Appropriate screening aims to identify lung cancer at an earlier, potentially more treatable stage.

Clinicians should understand:

• Which patients qualify for screening
• Role of low-dose CT
• Risk assessment
• Appropriate follow-up
• Management of abnormal results

Pulmonary Nodule Evaluation

Pulmonary nodule management should be individualized according to variables such as:

• Patient age
• Smoking history
• Cancer risk
• Nodule size
• Nodule morphology
• Location
• Growth
• Imaging characteristics

The objective is to balance early cancer detection against unnecessary testing and invasive procedures.

Major Cardiology Topics Covered

• Cardiovascular Disease Prevention
• Primary Prevention of CAD
• Secondary Prevention of CAD
• Hyperlipidemia
• Cholesterol Management
• Cardiovascular Risk Assessment
• Hypertension
• Resistant Hypertension
• Coronary Artery Disease
• CAD Work-Up
• ECG
• Echocardiography
• Nuclear Cardiology
• Cardiac CT
• Appropriate Use Criteria
• Heart Failure
• HFrEF
• HFpEF
• NT-proBNP
• ACE Inhibitors
• ARBs
• ARNIs
• Beta Blockers
• Mineralocorticoid Receptor Antagonists
• SGLT2 Inhibitors
• ICD
• CRT
• Arrhythmias
• Atrial Fibrillation
• Anticoagulation
• Acute Coronary Syndromes
• Acute Chest Pain
• STEMI
• NSTEMI
• PCI

Major Pulmonology Topics Covered

• Pulmonology
• Asthma
• Airway Inflammation
• Difficult-to-Control Asthma
• Respiratory Infections
• Acute Bronchitis
• Chronic Bronchitis
• Community-Acquired Pneumonia
• Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia
• Pneumonia Severity Index
• Antibiotic Stewardship
• COPD
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
• Inhaled Corticosteroids
• Oxygen Therapy
• Lung Volume Reduction Surgery
• Lung Cancer
• Lung Cancer Screening
• Pulmonary Nodules
• Fleischner Guidelines
• ACCP Lung Cancer Guidelines

Cardiology & Pulmonology in Primary Care

Cardiovascular and respiratory symptoms frequently overlap.

For example, dyspnea may result from:

• Heart failure
• Ischemic heart disease
• Arrhythmia
• COPD
• Asthma
• Respiratory infection
• Other cardiopulmonary conditions

This is one reason an integrated Cardiology & Pulmonology for Primary Care curriculum is particularly useful.

Primary care clinicians must determine:

Is the Problem Cardiac, Pulmonary, Both, or Something Else?

The program helps reinforce the diagnostic and management concepts required to answer that question.

Who Should Take This Course?

MER Cardiology & Pulmonology for Primary Care 2026 is targeted to office-based primary care providers and other healthcare professionals seeking practical updates in primary care medicine.

It is particularly relevant for:

• Internists
• Primary Care Physicians
• Family Medicine Physicians
• Cardiologists
• Pulmonologists
• Hospitalists
• General Practitioners
• Emergency Medicine Physicians
• Residents
• Fellows
• Nurse Practitioners
• Physician Assistants
• Clinicians managing adult cardiovascular and respiratory disease

Why This Course Is Useful

The main strength of this program is its integrated approach to two specialties that overlap extensively in primary care.

The curriculum can help clinicians:

• Improve cardiovascular risk assessment
• Apply contemporary lipid guidelines
• Update hypertension management
• Select appropriate CAD testing
• Review contemporary heart failure therapy
• Improve atrial fibrillation management
• Evaluate acute chest pain
• Review ACS treatment
• Improve asthma management
• Apply evidence-based respiratory infection treatment
• Review contemporary COPD therapy
• Apply lung cancer screening recommendations
• Evaluate pulmonary nodules appropriately

The overall clinical workflow can be summarized as:

Risk Assessment → Recognition → Diagnostic Testing → Evidence-Based Treatment → Follow-Up / Referral

Product / Delivery Information

• Product: MER Cardiology & Pulmonology for Primary Care 2026
• Provider: Medical Education Resources – MER
• Year: 2026
• Original Conference: June 26–28, 2026
• Venue: The Westin Nashville
• Location: Nashville, Tennessee
• Specialties: Cardiology / Pulmonology
• Additional Focus: Internal Medicine / Primary Care
• Delivery: Google Drive
• CME / Certificate with MedicalAmboss Digital Product: Not Included

Important CME / Certificate Notice

The MedicalAmboss product page states that the independently delivered digital product does not include CME points or a certificate.

Therefore, do not advertise the files as including:

• Official MER CME Credits
• ABIM MOC Points
• Official MER Certificate

unless official MER participation and credit-claiming access are actually provided.

4. Short Description

MER Cardiology & Pulmonology for Primary Care 2026 provides a practical multidisciplinary update covering major cardiovascular and respiratory conditions commonly encountered in primary care.

4. Topics

Cardiology (June 26 & 27, 2026)

• Primary & Secondary Prevention of CAD: Definitions; AHA/ACC and other lipid guidelines updates; HDL Cholesterol: The good cholesterol?; Metabolic syndrome and/or obesity; Who needs treatment and how much; The role of lifestyle changes, exercise and cardiac rehabilitation; Drug therapy updates; Risk calculation.

• Hypertension: The 2017 AHA/ACC Hypertension Guidelines; The 2024 ESC Guidelines for hypertension; Approaches to treatment thresholds and goals; Choices for initial and combination therapy; Resistant hypertension; Treating special populations: diabetics, the elderly, patients with renal failure.

• Work-up of Patients with Suspected CAD: Risk factor evaluation and risk assessment models; Test selection including ECG, echo, nuclear and newer imaging modalities (including discussion of appropriate use criteria–AUC); The usefulness of CT scanning; The role of bio markers and EBCT; Suspected CAD in special populations (women, diabetics, the elderly).

• Heart Failure: Etiologies and stages of heart failure; ACC/AHA Heart Failure Guidelines; Heart failure with reduced EF (HFrEF) and heart failure with preserved EF (HFpEF); Determining patients for referral using biomarkers, eg NT Pro BNP; Treatment options: ACE inhibitors, ARBS, ARNI, beta blockers, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists, SGLT2i; The role of devices (ICD and/or CRT) in treatment and antiplatelet drugs; Issues related to the hospitalized patient with acute decompensated heart failure and readmissions.

• Arrhythmias: Types and symptoms of arrhythmias; Approach to the patient: when to treat, when to refer, when to admit; Evaluation of the patient with palpitations; Atrial fibrilation: the use of anticoagulants indications, CVA risk scores, warfarin vs newer oral anticoagulants, controlling heart rate vs rhythm; Ventricular and other arrhythmias: when are they serious.

• Acute Coronary Syndromes: The Patient with Acute Chest Pain: Diagnosis and initial evaluation in the primary care setting, urgent care clinic and emergency department; Initial workup, treatment, and follow-up; Diagnosing and treating ST segment elevation and non-ST segment elevation MIs; The role of drug therapy–primary vs adjunctive to PCI; Follow up after acute coronary syndromome.

• Cardiology Cases: Challenging case presentations in cardiology (covered across two sessions).

Pulmonology (June 27 & 28, 2026)

• Asthma: The medical impact of asthma; fundamental role of inflammation, with possible scarring and irreversible loss of lung function; practical points of diagnosis; goal setting management based on levels of severity; risk factors for mortality and treatment in the acute setting; management options for the difficult to control asthmatic patient.

• Controversies in the Treatment of Common Respiratory Infections: Acute and chronic bronchitis; pneumonia (community versus hospital-acquired); role of the Pneumonia Severity Index score in determining indication for hospitalization; cost-effective use of antibiotics; clinical significance of drug resistance; guidelines for management.

• COPD: Definition; pathophysiology; early detection and intervention; risk reduction; management update including new modalities (including lung volume reduction surgery) and the role of inhaled corticosteroids and domiciliary oxygen.

• Lung Cancer Screening & Pulmonary Nodules: Appropriate use of the new lung cancer screening recommendations; Fleischner Society guidelines and American College of Chest Physician Lung Cancer guidelines; approach to definitive evaluation and management strategies.