11th Annual Orlando Health Heart and Vascular Institute Symposium
Saturday, January 24th, 2026
Two Locations:
Renaissance Orlando at Sea World, Orlando, FL
Bankers Auditorium at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, St. Petersburg, FL
Agenda
The symposium offers two tracks for attendees to choose from. The general cardiology track will focus on development and advancements in cardiovascular management and treatment, including general cardiology, vascular and imaging, and electrophysiology and pulmonary. The cardiovascular specialty track will focus on higher acuity cardiovascular management, including heart failure, surgery and interventional and structural heart programs.
| Start Time | End Time | Focus Area | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7:00 AM | 7:45 AM | Check-in & Exhibits | |
| 7:45 AM | 7:55 AM | Welcome Remarks | Dr. Aurelio Duran, Dr. Anthony Rongione, Dr. Alexander Johnson |
| 7:55 AM | 8:05 AM | Orlando Health Updates | Dr. Jamal Hakim, Cary D’Ortona |
| 8:05 AM | 8:15 AM | Orlando Health Heart & Vascular Institute Updates | Dr. Vijaykumar, Andy Shunk |
| 8:15 AM | 8:35 AM | Keynote Address: Orlando Health – A New Era of Growth & Opportunities | Joe Williams, Orlando Health |
| 8:35 AM | 8:50 AM | Break & Exhibits Open | |
| 9:00 AM | 9:15 AM | Don’t Blame It On the Burrito – Cardiac vs. Non-Cardiac Chest Pain | Shahbaaz Sheikh, MD |
| 9:15 AM | 9:30 AM | Preventative Cardiology & Polypharmacy - Too Many Pills, Too Little Prevention | Jose Rosado, MD |
| 9:30 AM | 9:45 AM | Why the Lp (a) is Not Little Anymore - Advances in Cholesterol Management | Karuppiah Arunachalam, MD |
| 9:45 AM | 10:00 AM | Will My Heart Let Me Play - Cardiovascular Risk In The Young Athlete | Patrick Chang, MD |
| 10:00 AM | 10:15 AM | Cardiovascular Risk in Women | Darlene Go, MD |
| 10:15 AM | 10:30 AM | How to De-Risk Those At Risk - Stress Testing Indicators | Ally Myers, APP |
| 10:30 AM | 10:45 AM | Panel Discussion | |
| 10:45 AM | 11:05 AM | Break & Exhibits | |
| 11:05 AM | 11:20 AM | A Blob is Blocking The Vein - DVT Management & Removal | Rob Winters, MD |
| 11:20 AM | 11:35 AM | Moving My Arm or Shoulder Hurts - Identify and Manage Thoracic Outlet Syndrome | Roger Moccia, MD |
| 11:35 AM | 11:50 AM | Eating Causes my Belly to Ache - Identify and Manage Mesenteric Artery Disease | Sotero Peralta |
| 11:50 AM | 12:05 PM | Vasculitis - no real cure but fortunately rare - do new drugs work? | Ernesto Rodriguez Velazquez, MD |
| 12:05 PM | 12:20 PM | At the Mercy of the Kidneys – Renal Denervation in HTN Management | Farhan Khawaja, MD |
| 12:20 PM | 12:35 PM | Keep The Guillotine Away From The Leg – Critical Leg Ischemia & Salvage | James Cavendar, MD |
| 12:35 PM | 12:50 PM | Panel Discussion | |
| 12:50 PM | 1:30 PM | Lunch & Exhibits | |
| 1:30 PM | 1:45 PM | Can You Spotify The Beat - ECG Shazam Fellows, OHHVI & OHMG - East Coast | Fellows |
| 1:45 PM | 2:00 PM | Recognizing The Lurking Danger - Arrythmia Detection Devices | Nicholas Kotch, MD |
| 2:00 PM | 2:15 PM | To Cut or Burn - Advanced in A-Fib Ablation | Prakash Goutham, MD |
| 2:15 PM | 2:30 PM | Am I Dizzy or in Deep Sleep? POTS & Sudden Cardiac Death | Carlos Arrieta, MD |
| 2:30 PM | 2:45 PM | The New Pace Setters - Leadless Pacers & Conduction System Pacing | Daniel Nguyen, MD |
| 2:45 PM | 3:00 PM | Scrubbing The Rub - New Treatments for Pericarditis | Jonathan Ortiz, MD |
| 3:00 PM | 3:15 PM | Panel Discussion | |
| 3:15 PM | 3:35 PM | Break & Exhibits | |
| 3:35 PM | 3:50 PM | No Longer Artificial & Definitely Intelligent - in Echo, CT & MRI | Punita Kaveti, MD |
| 3:50 PM | 4:05 PM | PMA Peek Into The Plaque – CT Imaging For Plaque Morphology | Allan Chen, MD |
| 4:05 PM | 4:20 PM | Known Unknowns and Unknown Unknowns - Causes of Early and Familial CAD | Shiva Shashidhar, MD |
| 4:20 PM | 4:35 PM | To Be Or Not To Be A Couch Potato – Sedentary Lifestyle, Exercise & Rehab | Ly Tran, MD |
| 4:35 PM | 4:50 PM | What’s On The Menu – Plant Based Diet & Microbiomes | Valerie Izarnotegui, MD |
| 4:50 PM | 5:00 PM | Panel Discussion | |
| 4:55 PM | 5:55 PM | Cocktail Hour | |
| 5:55 PM | 7:25 PM | Evening Reception |
| Start Time | End Time | Focus Area | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7:00 AM | 7:45 AM | Check-in & Exhibits | |
| 7:45 AM | 7:55 AM | Welcome Remarks | Dr. Aurelio Duran, Dr. Anthony Rongione, Dr. Alexander Johnson |
| 7:55 AM | 8:05 AM | Orlando Health Updates | Dr. Jamal Hakim, Cary D’Ortona |
| 8:05 AM | 8:15 AM | Orlando Health Heart & Vascular Institute Updates | Dr. Vijaykumar Kasi, Andy Shunk |
| 8:15 AM | 8:35 AM | Keynote Address: Orlando Health – A New Era of Growth & Opportunities | Joe Williams, Orlando Health |
| 8:35 AM | 8:50 AM | Break & Exhibits Open | |
| 9:00 AM | 9:15 AM | ETOH & Drug Impact - More Than Just Heart Failure | Vishesh Kumar, MD |
| 9:15 AM | 9:30 AM | New Device Technologies in Heart Failure Management | Yahira Ortiz, MD |
| 9:30 AM | 9:45 AM | Diuretics in Heart Failure + Cardio Renal Syndrome | Patrick Fisher, MD |
| 9:45 AM | 10:00 AM | Managing Acute Decompensated Right Heart Failure | Francisco Alvarado, MD |
| 10:00 AM | 10:15 AM | From Hospital to Home – Optimizing Transitions of Care in Heart Failure | Jaqueline Dowe, MD |
| 10:15 AM | 10:30 AM | Cardiopulmonary Testing - It Takes Two To Tango | Roberto Swazo, MD |
| 10:30 AM | 10:45 AM | Panel Discussion | |
| 10:45 AM | 11:05 AM | Break & Exhibits | |
| 11:05 AM | 11:20 AM | The Next Frontier – LVADs Vs. Transplants | Anthony Rongione, MD |
| 11:20 AM | 11:35 AM | Can A Machine Master The Art? – Robotic & Minimally Invasive Surgery | Michael Hanna, MD |
| 11:35 AM | 11:50 AM | Fostering the Festering Sore - Advanced Wound Care | Walter Conlan, MD |
| 11:50 AM | 12:05 PM | Aortic stenting and Endoleaks - Is it the Plumbers fault? | Gino Castaneda, MD |
| 12:05 PM | 12:20 PM | Honey, I Shrunk the Fat - Bariatric Surgery vs. Medication | Andre Texieria, MD |
| 12:20 PM | 12:35 PM | Let’s Gather Around The Crystal Ball – Future of TAVR | Doug Ebersole, MD |
| 12:35 PM | 12:50 PM | Panel Discussion | |
| 12:50 PM | 1:30 PM | Lunch & Exhibits | |
| 1:30 PM | 1:45 PM | A Round Peg In a Square Hole – Rules for Mitral Valve in a Valve | Matthew Sample, MD |
| 1:45 PM | 2:00 PM | Encountering Rocks & Boulders – CTO & CHIP Procedures | Qusai Saleh, MD |
| 2:00 PM | 2:15 PM | The Glow You See is Not an Aura – Cath Lab Radiation Safety | Daniel Rodriguez, MD |
| 2:15 PM | 2:30 PM | Inside the Situation Room – Advanced Imaging in TAVR Case Planning | Praveen Kanaparti, MD |
| 2:30 PM | 2:45 PM | Dropping Anchor in Fast Waters – Transcatheter Options for Aortic Insufficiency | Ravi Korabathina, MD |
| 2:45 PM | 3:00 PM | Time for Some Extra Oomph! – Role of IABP & LV Assist | Abid Shah, MD |
| 3:00 PM | 3:15 PM | Panel Discussion | |
| 3:15 PM | 3:35 PM | Break & Exhibits | |
| 3:35 PM | 3:50 PM | When the Pipes Break Easily - Genetics of Aortic Pathology | Sandeep Gupta, MD |
| 3:50 PM | 4:05 PM | Should Everyone Get a TAVR? Who Benefits and Why | Karen Walker, MD |
| 4:05 PM | 4:20 PM | Small Hearts Are a Big Deal – Pediatric Cardiology | David Gordon Nykanen, MD |
| 4:20 PM | 4:35 PM | When Doctors Should Step Back – Hospice & Palliative Care | Mary Busowski-Martin, MD |
| 4:35 PM | 4:50 PM | Top 5 CV Trials and technologies of 2025 | Fellows |
| 5:00 PM | 5:10 PM | Panel Discussion | |
| 4:55 PM | 5:55 PM | Cocktail Hour | |
| 5:55 PM | 7:25 PM | Evening Reception |