Full Professor
Director, Heart Function Clinic
Department of cardiology, Université de Sherbrooke
Past President, Quebec Heart Failure Society
Sherbrooke, QC


LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing this learning activity, participants will be better able to:

• Recall the cardiovascular benefits of optimal RAAS inhibition in patients with heart failure
• Evaluate the clinical impact of down-titrating or discontinuing RAAS inhibitors in these patients because of hyperkalemia
• Summarize the new Canadian practical guidance for the management of hyperkalemia in patients treated with RAAS inhibitors
• Appraise the efficacy and tolerability of novel potassium binders in the treatment of hyperkalemia and the optimization of RAAS inhibitor therapy

Dr. Serge Lepage is currently a Full Professor in the Cardiology Department at the Université de Sherbrooke (CHUS).

He is active in cardiac rehabilitation and is Director of the Cardiac Insufficiency Clinic. Dr. Lepage graduated from the Université de Sherbrooke in 1985 and, since his residency in 1990, has been working at the CHUS as a Cardiologist specializing in Echocardiography. He has done ground-breaking work in cardiac insufficiency, angina, and hypertension. He has published more than 26 articles and 28 abstracts. He is a member of the board of several committees, including the ACMDP (Quebec Association of Physicians, Dentists and Pharmacists). Dr. Lepage was President of the Quebec Heart Failure Society from 2009-2014.

Professor, Department of Medicine
Co-Director, Canadian VIGOUR Centre
Director, Cardiovascular Research, University of Alberta
Cardiologist, Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute
Edmonton, AB


LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing this learning activity, participants will be better able to:

• Recall the cardiovascular benefits of optimal RAAS inhibition in patients with heart failure
• Evaluate the clinical impact of down-titrating or discontinuing RAAS inhibitors in these patients because of hyperkalemia
• Summarize the new Canadian practical guidance for the management of hyperkalemia in patients treated with RAAS inhibitors
• Appraise the efficacy and tolerability of novel potassium binders in the treatment of hyperkalemia and the optimization of RAAS inhibitor therapy

Dr. Justin Ezekowitz is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology, Director of Cardiovascular Research, and Co-Director of the Canadian VIGOUR Centre at the University of Alberta. He is a cardiologist at the University of Alberta Hospital and Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute. His research and clinical focus is on heart failure. He is involved in numerous clinical trials in heart failure as a site investigator, and on the steering or executive committee for several multicenter international trials. He is also involved in the design leadership and implementation of several investigator-initiated trials funded through governmental and non-governmental research agencies. In addition, he works with population health, registry-data and other data sources on clinically applicable research using advanced data analytics around health system change and disease risk.