MER Primary Care Conferences Internal Medicine for Primary Care Cardio Geri Pain Sep 04-06, 2026

Cardiology • Geriatrics • Pain Management • Internal Medicine • Primary Care

September 4–6, 2026 | Glacier National Park, Montana

Review practical, evidence-based updates across Cardiology, Geriatrics, and Pain Management with MER Primary Care Conferences Internal Medicine for Primary Care Cardio Geri Pain Sep 04-06, 2026.

Organized by Medical Education Resources (MER), the original live conference was held September 4–6, 2026, at Grouse Mountain Lodge in Glacier National Park, Montana. The official MER title is Internal Medicine for Primary Care: Cardio/Geri/Pain.

The three-day program was designed for office-based primary care providers and other healthcare professionals seeking clinically relevant updates in:

• Cardiology
• Geriatric Medicine
• Pain Management
• Internal Medicine
• Primary Care

The curriculum addresses high-frequency outpatient problems including cardiovascular disease prevention, suspected coronary artery disease, heart failure, arrhythmias, atrial fibrillation, lower urinary tract symptoms, urinary incontinence, cognitive impairment, dementia, Alzheimer disease, hypertension in older adults, nociceptive and neuropathic pain, complex regional pain syndrome, multisystem pain presentations, and implantable neuromodulation.

Course Details

• Course: Internal Medicine for Primary Care: Cardio/Geri/Pain
• Provider: Medical Education Resources – MER
• Year: 2026
• Original Conference Dates: September 4–6, 2026
• Duration: 3 Days
• Venue: Grouse Mountain Lodge
• Location: Glacier National Park, Montana
• Primary Specialty: Internal Medicine / Primary Care
• Subspecialties: Cardiology, Geriatrics, Pain Management
• Original MER Listing: 12 Credit Hours
• ANCC Pharmacotherapeutic Contact Hours: 5.75
• MATE Act: Fulfills 4 Hours of the MATE Act Requirement
• Primary Audience: Office-Based Primary Care Providers and Other Health Professionals
• Primary Clinical Focus: Evidence-Based Cardiovascular, Geriatric, and Pain Management Updates

MER’s official conference page confirms the dates, venue, credit hours, pharmacotherapeutic hours, and MATE Act component.

Who Was the Original Program Designed For?

MER identifies the target audience as:

Office-based primary care providers and other health professionals seeking updates in primary care medicine.

The conference is particularly relevant for:

• Primary Care Physicians
• Internal Medicine Physicians
• Family Medicine Physicians
• Cardiologists
• Geriatricians
• Pain Management Specialists
• Nurse Practitioners
• Physician Associates / Physician Assistants
• Clinicians caring for older adults
• Clinicians managing chronic cardiovascular disease
• Clinicians managing chronic and complex pain
• Healthcare professionals working in adult outpatient medicine

The strongest clinical audience remains:

Primary Care + Internal Medicine

with focused education in:

Cardiology + Geriatrics + Pain Management

Learning Objectives

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

• Implement lifestyle changes as well as lipid and cholesterol guidelines for the prevention of CAD.
• Describe the work-up, risk assessment and test selection of patients with suspected CAD.
• Implement treatment strategies reflective of recent guidelines and current evidence based medicine for heart failure.
• Describe current diagnostic and treatment approaches to arrhythmias and atrial fibrilation.
• Review common lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) that may progress to urinary incontinence, and initiate treatment options.
• Review behavioral and medication interventions for dementia and Alzheimer Disease.
• Evaluate hypertension in both younger and older adults, differentiate risks and goals of treatment, and recommend appropriate interventions.
• Utilize discussion and case-based learning to further incorporate treatment options for hypertension into practice.
• Differentiate treatment options for nociceptive and neuropathic pain.
• Discuss strategies to diagnose and treat complex regional pain syndrome.
• Recognize and treat multi system disease in the primary care setting.
• Describe neurostimulation options for treating chronic pain.

The official MER agenda confirms the same major educational domains and includes dedicated sessions on cardiovascular prevention, suspected CAD, heart failure, dementia, hypertension, arrhythmias, neuropathic versus nociceptive pain, CRPS, multisystem disease, and implantable neuromodulation.

CARDIOLOGY

The cardiology portion provides practical updates on common cardiovascular problems encountered in everyday primary care.

Major areas include:

• Cardiovascular disease prevention
• Lipid management
• Cardiometabolic risk
• Suspected coronary artery disease
• Cardiovascular diagnostic testing
• Heart failure
• Arrhythmias
• Atrial fibrillation

The overall cardiovascular pathway can be summarized as:

Assess Risk → Prevent Disease → Evaluate Symptoms → Select Testing → Diagnose → Treat → Monitor

Primary Prevention of Cardiometabolic Cardiovascular Disease

The official opening session is:

Primary Prevention of Cardiometabolic CVD.

The session addresses prevention through:

• Contemporary lipid guidelines
• Cholesterol management
• Metabolic syndrome
• Obesity
• Lifestyle modification
• Exercise
• Cardiac rehabilitation
• Pharmacologic risk reduction
• Cardiovascular risk calculation

The emphasis is on identifying patients who may benefit from intervention before symptomatic cardiovascular disease develops.

Lifestyle Modification

A specific learning objective is to implement lifestyle changes for the prevention of coronary artery disease.

Preventive strategies may integrate:

• Physical activity
• Weight management
• Dietary modification
• Smoking-related risk reduction
• Control of metabolic risk factors
• Medication where indicated

The prevention pathway is:

Identify Risk → Modify Lifestyle → Manage Lipids → Monitor → Reassess

Lipid & Cholesterol Guidelines

The official agenda includes updates involving AHA/ACC and other lipid guidelines, cardiovascular risk estimation, and decisions about which patients require treatment.

This allows clinicians to connect laboratory values with overall cardiovascular risk rather than treating cholesterol values in isolation.

Cardiometabolic Risk

MER’s session also considers:

• Metabolic syndrome
• Obesity
• Cardiovascular risk calculations

within prevention.

These factors are particularly relevant because cardiometabolic disease often develops years before clinically apparent CAD.

Work-up of Patients with Suspected CAD

A dedicated official session is:

Work-up of Patients with Suspected CAD.

The program reviews:

• Risk-factor evaluation
• Risk-assessment models
• Chest pain guidance
• ECG
• Echocardiography
• Nuclear imaging
• Newer cardiac imaging
• CT scanning
• Biomarkers
• Appropriate use criteria

The diagnostic pathway can be summarized as:

Clinical Suspicion → Risk Assessment → Test Selection → Interpretation → Treatment / Referral

Cardiovascular Test Selection

One of the course’s key objectives is selecting appropriate tests rather than reflexively performing every available cardiovascular investigation.

The curriculum specifically addresses use of:

• ECG
• Echocardiography
• Nuclear testing
• CT-based techniques
• Newer cardiac imaging modalities

within the evaluation of suspected coronary artery disease.

CAD in Special Populations

The official agenda highlights evaluation of suspected CAD in:

• Women
• Patients with diabetes
• Older adults

because clinical presentation and pretest risk may differ among patient populations.

Heart Failure

A full cardiology session addresses:

Heart Failure.

Confirmed content includes:

• Etiologies of heart failure
• Stages of heart failure
• Contemporary ACC/AHA guidance
• HFrEF
• HFpEF
• Biomarkers
• Pharmacologic therapy
• Device therapy
• Acute decompensated heart failure
• Hospital readmission

HFrEF & HFpEF

The course differentiates:

• Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction – HFrEF
• Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction – HFpEF

because diagnosis and evidence-based treatment strategies differ between these phenotypes.

Heart Failure Biomarkers

The official agenda includes biomarkers such as NT-proBNP when considering which patients may benefit from additional cardiovascular evaluation or referral.

Guideline-Directed Heart Failure Therapy

The MER curriculum includes contemporary therapy classes such as:

• ACE inhibitors
• ARBs
• ARNI
• Beta blockers
• Mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists
• SGLT2 inhibitors

along with device strategies including:

• ICD
• CRT

where appropriate.

Acute Decompensated Heart Failure

The course also addresses hospitalized patients with acute decompensated heart failure and challenges associated with readmission.

This reinforces the need for continuity between:

Hospital Treatment → Outpatient Follow-Up → Long-Term Disease Management

Arrhythmias

Saturday includes a dedicated:

Arrhythmias

session.

Topics include:

• Types of arrhythmias
• Clinical symptoms
• Palpitations
• When to treat
• When to refer
• When hospital admission may be needed
• Atrial fibrillation
• Ventricular arrhythmias

Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation receives particular attention.

Confirmed areas include:

• Anticoagulation indications
• Stroke-risk assessment
• Warfarin
• Newer oral anticoagulants
• Rate control
• Rhythm control

The clinical framework is:

Confirm AF → Assess Stroke Risk → Select Anticoagulation When Appropriate → Choose Rate or Rhythm Strategy → Follow Up

Palpitations

Patients presenting with palpitations require a structured evaluation to distinguish benign rhythm disturbances from clinically important arrhythmias.

The official agenda emphasizes determining:

• When treatment is needed
• When specialist referral is appropriate
• When hospitalization may be necessary

Ventricular Arrhythmias

The curriculum also addresses ventricular and other potentially serious arrhythmias, helping clinicians recognize which rhythm problems require more urgent cardiovascular evaluation.

GERIATRICS

The geriatrics curriculum focuses on common but complex issues affecting older adults.

Major areas include:

• Lower urinary tract symptoms
• Urinary incontinence
• Dementia
• Alzheimer disease
• Cognitive impairment
• Hypertension in older adults
• Case-based geriatric management

Urological Disorders in the Older Adult

The official Friday program includes:

Urological Disorders in the Older Adult.

The session reviews:

• Lower urinary tract symptoms
• Urinary incontinence
• Stress incontinence
• Overflow incontinence
• Overactive bladder
• Urge incontinence
• Differential diagnosis
• Initial management

Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms – LUTS

The course emphasizes recognizing common lower urinary tract symptoms that may progress to urinary incontinence.

Assessment requires clinicians to consider:

• Symptom pattern
• Bladder function
• Medication effects
• Comorbid disease
• Potential reversible causes
• Need for additional evaluation

Urinary Incontinence

The curriculum addresses practical management of different forms of urinary incontinence, including:

• Stress incontinence
• Overflow incontinence
• Overactive bladder
• Urge incontinence

The objective is to move from a nonspecific complaint of urinary leakage toward a clinically useful diagnosis and treatment plan.

Dementia in the Older Adult

Friday also includes:

Dementia in the Older Adult.

The session addresses:

• Normal cognitive aging
• Early behavioral changes
• Dementia screening tools
• Different dementia syndromes
• Alzheimer disease
• Risks and benefits of treatment

Cognitive Impairment

Primary care clinicians frequently encounter complaints involving:

• Memory
• Behavior
• Executive function
• Functional decline

A systematic approach helps distinguish:

Normal Aging → Cognitive Impairment → Dementia Syndrome

Dementia Screening

The official program reviews different screening tools for dementia and the role of structured cognitive assessment.

Screening does not replace diagnosis but can help identify patients requiring further evaluation.

Alzheimer Disease

The course includes discussion of treatment for Alzheimer Disease, including consideration of treatment benefits and risks.

The broader approach is:

Recognize → Assess Cognition → Establish Diagnosis → Discuss Treatment → Support Patient and Family → Monitor

Behavioral Changes in Dementia

The official session acknowledges that behavioral changes may precede or accompany early dementia.

These changes can become clinically important because caregivers may initially describe personality or functional changes rather than memory loss alone.

Hypertension in Older Adults

Saturday begins with:

Controversies in the Management of Hypertension in Older Adults.

The session reviews:

• Treatment goals
• Hypertension in older adults
• Patients with diabetes
• Patients with prior stroke
• Conflicting guideline recommendations
• Evidence-based medication selection

Hypertension Treatment Goals

Blood-pressure targets may need to balance:

• Cardiovascular prevention
• Stroke prevention
• Comorbidities
• Medication tolerance
• Age
• Functional status

The course emphasizes evaluating benefits and risks rather than applying identical treatment targets to every patient.

Hypertension in Diabetes & Previous Stroke

The official agenda specifically addresses evidence regarding treatment goals among patients with:

• Diabetes
• Previous stroke

These populations often require careful cardiovascular risk management.

Hypertension Discussion & Q&A

The second Saturday session is:

Hypertension Discussion and Q&A.

This interactive format reinforces the principles of hypertension diagnosis and treatment through discussion and practical clinical questions.

The session directly supports the learning objective to incorporate hypertension treatment options into practice through discussion and case-based learning.

PAIN MANAGEMENT

The pain-management curriculum focuses on understanding the mechanism of pain before selecting treatment.

Major areas include:

• Nociceptive pain
• Neuropathic pain
• Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
• Multisystem disease
• Chronic pain
• Neurostimulation
• Implantable neuromodulation
• Intrathecal therapy

The pain pathway can be summarized as:

Characterize Pain → Identify Mechanism → Establish Diagnosis → Select Targeted Treatment → Escalate When Appropriate

Nociceptive vs. Neuropathic Pain

Saturday includes:

Good Pain and Bad Pain.

The session focuses on differentiating:

• Nociceptive pain
• Neuropathic pain

and understanding why the two may require different treatment strategies.

Nociceptive Pain

Nociceptive pain typically arises from tissue injury or activation of peripheral pain receptors.

Treatment strategies therefore need to be selected according to the underlying source of pain and the individual clinical situation.

Neuropathic Pain

Neuropathic pain reflects injury or dysfunction involving the nervous system.

The course emphasizes that neuropathic pain should be recognized as a different pain mechanism rather than managed automatically using the same strategy as nociceptive pain.

Mechanism-Based Pain Management

A useful framework for the course is:

What Type of Pain? → What Is the Mechanism? → Which Treatment Targets That Mechanism?

This supports more individualized and rational pain treatment.

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome – CRPS

Another dedicated Saturday session is:

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.

MER describes the session as reviewing diagnostic and treatment tools for this frequently misdiagnosed and potentially devastating pain condition.

Diagnosing CRPS

CRPS may be difficult to recognize because symptoms can involve multiple domains.

Clinical evaluation may need to consider:

• Pain characteristics
• Sensory abnormalities
• Vasomotor changes
• Sudomotor findings
• Motor dysfunction
• Functional impairment

The course emphasizes establishing an accurate diagnosis before selecting therapy.

Treating CRPS

The learning objectives specifically require participants to discuss strategies for diagnosing and treating complex regional pain syndrome.

The overall approach is:

Recognize Pattern → Confirm Diagnosis → Begin Multimodal Treatment → Monitor Function and Pain → Consider Advanced Therapy When Appropriate

Multi System Disease

Sunday begins with:

Multi System Disease.

MER describes the session around an important clinical principle:

Sometimes pain is only the visible part of a broader disease process.

The session focuses on strategies for making an accurate diagnosis and developing an appropriate treatment plan when symptoms do not fit neatly into a single diagnostic category.

Pain as a Diagnostic Clue

Pain can sometimes be the presenting symptom of disease involving more than one organ system.

The primary care challenge is to avoid focusing exclusively on symptom suppression when a broader diagnosis may better explain the patient’s presentation.

The clinical pathway is:

Pain Complaint → Broader History & Examination → Look for Systemic Clues → Differential Diagnosis → Targeted Evaluation

Complex Clinical Presentations

The multisystem session is particularly relevant to patients with:

• Multiple symptoms
• Unclear pain generators
• Overlapping conditions
• Unusual clinical patterns
• Poor response to conventional therapy

The emphasis is on diagnostic reasoning rather than simply escalating analgesic treatment.

Implantable Neuromodulation

The final official session is:

Implantable Neuromodulation.

The curriculum introduces:

• Neurostimulators
• Intrathecal pumps
• Mechanisms of action
• Clinical indications

This provides primary care clinicians with an overview of advanced pain-treatment options that may be considered when conservative approaches are insufficient.

Neurostimulation for Chronic Pain

A specific learning objective is to:

Describe neurostimulation options for treating chronic pain.

Neurostimulation represents an advanced therapeutic category that can be considered in selected patients with persistent pain syndromes.

Spinal Cord & Peripheral Stimulation Concepts

The program’s neuromodulation overview helps clinicians understand the role of implantable stimulation technology within the broader chronic pain treatment continuum.

The purpose for primary care clinicians is not necessarily to implant devices, but to understand:

• What these therapies are
• Which patients may be potential candidates
• When referral may be reasonable
• How these approaches fit into multidisciplinary pain management

Intrathecal Pumps

The official session also introduces intrathecal pumps.

These devices represent another advanced treatment option used in selected chronic pain patients.

The course addresses their basic mechanism and indications rather than presenting them as routine first-line therapy.

Advanced Pain Management

The final treatment continuum can be summarized as:

Conservative Care → Medication / Rehabilitation → Interventional Options → Neuromodulation / Implantable Therapy in Selected Patients

Three-Specialty Primary Care Integration

The value of the conference comes from integrating three frequently overlapping clinical domains.

Cardiology

CAD Prevention + Suspected CAD + Heart Failure + Arrhythmias

Geriatrics

LUTS + Urinary Incontinence + Dementia + Hypertension

Pain Management

Nociceptive/Neuropathic Pain + CRPS + Multisystem Disease + Neuromodulation

This multidisciplinary structure is particularly valuable for primary care clinicians managing older adults with multiple chronic diseases.

Major Topics Covered

• Internal Medicine
• Primary Care
• Cardiology
• Cardiovascular Prevention
• Cardiometabolic Disease
• Coronary Artery Disease
• CAD Prevention
• Lipid Management
• Cholesterol Guidelines
• Metabolic Syndrome
• Obesity
• Cardiovascular Risk Assessment
• Suspected CAD
• ECG
• Echocardiography
• Cardiac Imaging
• CT Imaging
• Heart Failure
• HFrEF
• HFpEF
• NT-proBNP
• ACE Inhibitors
• ARBs
• ARNI
• Beta Blockers
• Mineralocorticoid Receptor Antagonists
• SGLT2 Inhibitors
• ICD
• CRT
• Arrhythmias
• Palpitations
• Atrial Fibrillation
• Anticoagulation
• Rate Control
• Rhythm Control
• Geriatric Medicine
• Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms
• LUTS
• Urinary Incontinence
• Stress Incontinence
• Overflow Incontinence
• Overactive Bladder
• Urge Incontinence
• Cognitive Impairment
• Dementia
• Alzheimer Disease
• Dementia Screening
• Hypertension
• Hypertension in Older Adults
• Hypertension in Diabetes
• Stroke Prevention
• Pain Management
• Chronic Pain
• Nociceptive Pain
• Neuropathic Pain
• Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
• CRPS
• Multisystem Disease
• Neurostimulation
• Neuromodulation
• Implantable Neurostimulation
• Intrathecal Pumps
• Evidence-Based Primary Care

Who Should Take This Course?

MER Primary Care Conferences Internal Medicine for Primary Care Cardio Geri Pain Sep 04-06, 2026 is particularly relevant for:

• Primary Care Physicians
• Internal Medicine Physicians
• Family Medicine Physicians
• Cardiologists
• Geriatricians
• Pain Management Specialists
• Nurse Practitioners
• Physician Associates / Physician Assistants
• Clinicians caring for older adults
• Clinicians managing cardiovascular disease
• Clinicians treating chronic pain
• Healthcare professionals involved in adult outpatient medicine

The strongest clinical audience remains:

Primary Care + Internal Medicine

with focused updates in:

Cardiology + Geriatrics + Pain Management

Why This Course Is Useful

MER Internal Medicine for Primary Care: Cardio/Geri/Pain 2026 provides an efficient multidisciplinary review of conditions that frequently overlap in everyday outpatient medicine.

Cardiovascular Medicine

• CAD prevention
• Lipid management
• Suspected coronary disease
• Heart failure
• Arrhythmias
• Atrial fibrillation

Geriatric Medicine

• LUTS
• Urinary incontinence
• Dementia
• Alzheimer disease
• Hypertension in older adults

Pain Management

• Nociceptive pain
• Neuropathic pain
• CRPS
• Multisystem disease
• Neurostimulation
• Implantable neuromodulation

The overall clinical pathway can be summarized as:

Recognize → Assess Risk → Establish Diagnosis → Select Evidence-Based Treatment → Monitor → Refer When Appropriate

Original MER Credit & Accreditation Information

The official MER activity was planned as an interprofessional educational program and offered:

• 12 Interprofessional Continuing Education – IPCE Credits
• Up to 12 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™
• Up to 12 ABIM Part II MOC Points
• Up to 12.00 Live AAFP Prescribed Credits
• 12 AOA Category 2-A Hours
• Up to 12 ACEP Category I Hours
• 12 ANCC Nursing Contact Hours
• 5.75 ANCC Pharmacotherapeutic Contact Hours
• 12 California Board of Registered Nursing Contact Hours
• 12 AAPA Category 1 CME Credits
• 12 ACPE Contact Hours / 1.2 CEUs for eligible pharmacy participants

MER is jointly accredited by the ACCME, ACPE, and ANCC to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

The official MER conference page also states that this program fulfills 4 hours of the MATE Act requirement.

These credits apply to eligible participation in the original MER educational activity and completion of the provider’s applicable requirements.

An independently distributed MedicalAmboss package should not automatically be represented as providing:

• MER CME Credit
• AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™
• ABIM MOC Points
• AAFP Prescribed Credit
• ANCC Contact Hours
• ANCC Pharmacotherapeutic Contact Hours
• AAPA Category 1 CME
• ACPE Credit
• MATE Act Completion Credit
• Official MER Certificate
• Official MER Account Access

unless official MER participation and credit-claiming eligibility are specifically included with the purchase.

Product Summary

• Product: MER Primary Care Conferences Internal Medicine for Primary Care Cardio Geri Pain Sep 04-06, 2026
• Official Course: Internal Medicine for Primary Care: Cardio/Geri/Pain
• Provider: Medical Education Resources – MER
• Year: 2026
• Conference Dates: September 4–6, 2026
• Duration: 3 Days
• Venue: Grouse Mountain Lodge
• Location: Glacier National Park, Montana
• Original MER Listing: 12 Credit Hours
• ANCC Pharmacotherapeutic Contact Hours: 5.75
• MATE Act: 4 Hours
• Primary Specialty: Internal Medicine / Primary Care
• Subspecialties: Cardiology, Geriatrics, Pain Management
• Primary Audience: Office-Based Primary Care Providers and Other Healthcare Professionals
• Major Areas: CAD Prevention, Suspected CAD, Heart Failure, Arrhythmias, Dementia, LUTS, Hypertension, Nociceptive and Neuropathic Pain, CRPS, Multisystem Disease, and Neuromodulation

Short Description

MER Primary Care Conferences Internal Medicine for Primary Care Cardio Geri Pain Sep 04-06, 2026 provides practical, evidence-based updates across Cardiology, Geriatrics, and Pain Management.

Held September 4–6, 2026, at Grouse Mountain Lodge in Glacier National Park, Montana, the program covers cardiovascular disease prevention, suspected CAD, heart failure, arrhythmias and atrial fibrillation, lower urinary tract symptoms, urinary incontinence, dementia, Alzheimer disease, hypertension in older adults, nociceptive and neuropathic pain, complex regional pain syndrome, multisystem disease, and implantable neuromodulation.

Topics

Friday, September 4, 2026

• Primary Prevention of Cardiometabolic CVD (Cardiology): Lipid-guideline updates, cardiometabolic risk, metabolic syndrome and obesity, lifestyle modification, exercise, cardiac rehabilitation, pharmacologic prevention, and cardiovascular risk estimation.
• Work-up of Patients with Suspected CAD (Cardiology): Cardiovascular risk-factor assessment; chest-pain guidance; appropriate selection of ECG, echocardiography, nuclear and newer imaging; CT-based evaluation; biomarkers; and assessment of special populations including women, patients with diabetes, and older adults.
• Heart Failure (Cardiology): Heart-failure etiology and staging; HFrEF and HFpEF; biomarkers including NT-proBNP; evidence-based pharmacologic treatment; ICD/CRT considerations; acute decompensated heart failure; and readmissions.
• Urological Disorders in the Older Adult (Geriatrics): Lower urinary tract symptoms and progression to urinary incontinence; stress, overflow and urge incontinence; overactive bladder; differential diagnosis and management.
• Dementia in the Older Adult (Geriatrics): Normal cognitive aging, early behavioral changes, dementia screening, common dementia syndromes, Alzheimer disease, and treatment risks and benefits.

Saturday, September 5, 2026

• Controversies in the Management of Hypertension in Older Adults (Geriatrics): Blood-pressure goals in older adults and selected high-risk populations; differences among guideline recommendations; and evidence-based antihypertensive therapy.
• Hypertension Discussion and Q&A (Geriatrics): Interactive review of hypertension diagnosis and treatment in older adults, with practical questions and case-oriented discussion.
• Arrhythmias (Cardiology): Palpitations, treatment and referral decisions, atrial fibrillation, stroke-risk assessment, anticoagulation, rate versus rhythm control, and clinically important ventricular arrhythmias.
• Good Pain and Bad Pain (Pain): Differentiation of nociceptive and neuropathic pain and selection of treatment strategies according to the underlying pain mechanism.
• Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (Pain): Diagnostic and treatment strategies for CRPS, with emphasis on recognizing a frequently missed and functionally significant chronic pain disorder.

Sunday, September 6, 2026

• Multi System Disease (Pain): Diagnostic strategies for patients whose pain may represent a broader multisystem disorder; development of an appropriate clinical diagnosis and treatment plan when symptoms do not fit a simple diagnostic category.
• Implantable Neuromodulation (Pain): Introduction to neurostimulators and intrathecal pumps, including basic mechanisms of action and clinical indications.

Topics

• Primary Prevention of Cardiometabolic CVD: 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; Role of pooled equations for risk estimates.

• Work-up of Patients with Suspected CAD: Risk factor evaluation and risk assessment models; 2021 ACC/AHA Chest Pain Guidelines; 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.

• Urological Disorders in the Older Adult: Review common lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in older adults that may progress to incontinence; Practical approaches to differential diagnoses and management of Stress Incontinence, Overflow Incontinence, and Overactive Bladder (OAB), leading to Urge Incontinence.

• Dementia: A Critical Review of Treatment and Prevention: An evidence-based review of how to prevent and treat dementia, with a focus on the risks and benefits of new treatments for Alzheimer Disease; How to support patients who are considering new treatments.

• Controversies in the Management of Hypertension in Older Adults: Best evidence for treatment goals for hypertension in diabetics and those with previous stroke; Controversial evidence for the various guidelines for diagnosing and treating hypertension in older adults; Best evidence-based medications for hypertension.

• Hypertension Discussion and Q&A: Interactive review of the principles of hypertension diagnosis and treatment in older adults, and audience questions further clarifying the topic.

• 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.

• Good Pain and Bad Pain: Nociceptive vs neuropathic pain; How a clinician can tell the difference and strategies to implement to treat them differently.

• Complex Regional Pain Syndrome: Diagnostic and treatment tools for treating this often misdiagnosed and devastating pain condition.

• Multi System Disease: Sometimes pain is just the tip of the iceberg; Strategies for making an accurate clinical diagnosis and formulating a successful treatment plan when symptoms don’t fit neatly into the box.

• Implantable Neuromodulation: An introduction to stimulators and intrathecal pumps; Mechanism of action and when are they indicated.