Houston Methodist Research Powers High-Impact Sessions at ACC.26

When the cardiology world convenes in New Orleans for the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session & Expo next month, the Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center will once again help shape the national cardiovascular agenda.

ACC.26, which will be held March 28–30, is one of the premier global forums for late-breaking clinical trials, guideline updates and hands-on education in cardiovascular medicine.

This year, Houston Methodist cardiologists will serve as session co-chairs, featured debaters, panelists and presenters across multiple high-impact scientific and educational programs.

Redefining valve care

Few institutions have had as sustained an impact on contemporary valve care as Houston Methodist — and that leadership will be on full display at ACC.26.

Dr. William Zoghbi, chair of Cardiology, will co-chair a Highlighted Original Research session on valvular diseases, spotlighting major advances such as the timing of surgery in severe aortic regurgitation, transcatheter versus surgical strategies for tricuspid valve disease and the growing role of artificial intelligence in aortic stenosis screening.

Dr. Zoghbi will also contribute to moderated poster sessions featuring complex multimodal imaging cases and registry-based analyses, including research evaluating MELD-XI score and prognosis in tricuspid regurgitation from the Houston Methodist CVD Registry.

Dr. Stephen Little, director of Structural Heart, will guide audiences through crisis-level decision-making in complex valve scenarios and serve as an expert panelist and judge in a spirited transcatheter-versus-surgical debate session. He’ll also bring his expertise to a town hall discussion on tricuspid regurgitation, with topics ranging from grading severity and patient selection to overcoming real-world barriers to care.

Leading TAVR researcher Dr. Neal Kleiman will examine mechanical circulatory support and complex decision-making in percutaneous coronary intervention for patients with reduced ejection fraction, addressing procedural strategy, performance data and critical questions of patient selection and futility.

Prevention, imaging and precision decision-making

Advanced cardiovascular imaging remains a defining strength of the DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center in 2026 and beyond.

Dr. Mouaz Al-Mallah, director of Cardiac PET, will present highlighted original research in multimodal imaging, including data demonstrating how longitudinal flow gradient improves detection of obstructive coronary artery disease using flurpiridaz PET myocardial perfusion imaging.

Dr. Dipan Shah, chief of Cardiovascular Imaging, will lead a case-based session on leveraging CT and MRI to refine thresholds for valve intervention, emphasizing practical takeaways for day-to-day patient management.

Prevention will take center stage as Dr. Khurram Nasir, chief of Cardiovascular Prevention and Wellness, and colleagues participate in a debate-style session examining the evolving role of cardiac CT, coronary artery calcium scoring and coronary CTA in primary prevention, challenging attendees to rethink how cardiovascular risk assessment should be defined in modern practice.

Dr. Martha Gulati, director of the Davis Women’s Heart Center, will lead an interactive, case-based session on both chronic and acute chest pain. An expert panel will discuss the best approach to evaluating chest pain, including when to test, when to scan or stress, and when to take patients to the catheterization lab.

Heart failure and the cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic paradigm

As the field increasingly recognizes the interconnected biology of cardiovascular, kidney and metabolic disease, Houston Methodist faculty are helping define this emerging framework.

Dr. Sherif Nagueh, medical director of Echocardiography, will address evolving guideline-based approaches to diastolic function assessment, including challenging clinical contexts such as athlete’s heart, pulmonary hypertension and post–heart transplant physiology. Dr. Nagueh recently served as principal investigator for the American Society of Echocardiographers study establishing a new way to estimate LVFP from echocardiography.

Dr. Nadia Fida, assistant professor of Cardiology, will present on the cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) construct in heart failure, including integration of CKM staging with heart failure phenotypes and the role of SGLT2 inhibitors, GLP-1 receptor agonists and nonsteroidal mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists in comprehensive management.

Advancing women’s cardiovascular health and professional leadership

Houston Methodist’s expanding leadership in women’s cardiovascular health will also be prominently featured at ACC.26.

Dr. Martha Gulati, director of the Davis Women’s Heart Center, will anchor multiple sessions spanning cardiovascular risk from reproductive years through menopause, hormone therapy knowledge gaps and strategies to combat medical misinformation in cardiology. Her participation reflects the center’s broader commitment to elevating sex-specific research, prevention and education.

Additionally, Dr. Nadeen Faza, assistant professor of Cardiology, will join a featured fireside chat celebrating women in valvular heart disease, focusing on mentorship, resilience and leadership development for women in cardiology at all stages of their careers.

Leading cardiovascular conversations

The breadth and depth reflects the full scope of Houston Methodist’s comprehensive cardiovascular program and its commitment to advancing the science of cardiology while translating discovery into practical, guideline-shaping advances that improve cardiovascular care nationwide.

Click here to access the ACC.26 planner to plot your individualized conference schedule.