MVHI Holds Second Annual Heart Teaching Day  

Keynote speaker Dr. Jose Di Diego discusses heart regeneration

The Mohawk Valley Heart Institute’s (MVHI) second annual Heart Teaching Day, held on Saturday, March 24, 2012, featured keynote speaker Jose Di Diego, MD, the Program and Laboratory manager of the Experimental Cardiology Department at Masonic Medical Research Laboratory (MMRL). The teaching day was held at the Masonic Care Community in Utica, New York, and provided an educational opportunity for physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses and healthcare professionals to learn about the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease. More than 90 physicians and healthcare professionals were in attendance.

Dr. Di Diego’s keynote presentation discussed cardiac arrhythmias, stem cells and heart regeneration projects at MMRL. Di Diego actively participates as an experimental cardiac electrophysiologist in technologies that may one day regenerate the human heart. One of the most promising goals of the MMRL Stem Cell Center is the development of lab-grown hearts. This research has the potential to provide an alternative to heart transplantation and/or repairing of damaged hearts. Using cells from the recipient patient eliminates an auto-immune response or the need for drugs to repress this response.

Additional presentations given by MVHI providers covered topics such as acute coronary syndrome, mitral valve regurgitation and sudden cardiac death.

The Heart Teaching Day was sponsored by the Mohawk Valley Heart Institute and Masonic Medical Research Laboratory. The Mohawk Valley Heart Institute is a collaboration of Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare and St. Elizabeth Medical Center.