18th Annual Orange County Symposium for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention

The 18th Annual Orange County Symposium for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention is designed to address critical knowledge gaps in the rapidly evolving field of preventive cardiology. This educational program will provide primary care providers, cardiologists, endocrinologists, lifestyle interventionists, and other healthcare professionals with the latest evidence and practical strategies to improve cardiovascular health and reduce disease burden. Participants will receive updates on the role of large cohort studies in advancing precision nutrition; new insights from the Global Burden of Disease Study and their implications for population cardiometabolic health and public policy; the impact of micronutrients on cardiovascular disease prevention; and the relationship between stress, mind-body health, and cardiovascular outcomes. Additional topics include national nutrition recommendations for cardiovascular disease prevention, innovative models for cardiac rehabilitation, the spectrum and complications of cardiokidney metabolic syndrome, and evidence-based prevention strategies to reduce cardiovascular disease risk.

The symposium will also explore protocols for developing multidisciplinary cardiometabolic clinics, updated lipid management guidelines, and the role of lipoprotein(a) in cardiovascular risk assessment and prevention. Attendees will learn about the expanding role of GLP-1 receptor agonist therapies in diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular risk reduction, as well as emerging therapies for diabetes management and their impact on preventing cardiovascular events. Further sessions will address women’s cardiovascular health, including ANOCA and microvascular disease, multimodal imaging in cardiac prevention, the relationship between alcohol consumption and cardiovascular disease, and other sessions addressing the latest strategies for CVD prevention. Through these diverse and timely topics, the symposium aims to equip healthcare professionals with the knowledge and tools needed to advance evidence-based cardiovascular disease prevention in clinical practice.

Programming will take place on Friday, October 23, 2026 from 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, October 24, 2026 from 8:20 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

1. Clinicians and researchers will learn about the connection between and strategies for improving healthy lifestyles for prevention of cardiovascular disease.
2. Clinicians and researchers will learn about newer strategies for assessing cardiovascular and cardiometabolic risks.
3. Clinicians and researchers will learn about newer therapeutic options and guidelines for optimizing cardiovascular risk reduction.

Registration Is Open!

Call for Abstracts

We invite you to submit an abstract for poster presentation at the symposium.  Accepted posters may be set up beginning at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, October 23, and may remain on display for the duration of the conference, through Saturday afternoon.

A moderated poster session and reception will be held on Friday from approximately 4:30–6:00 p.m. During this session, a designated “Poster Professor” will visit each poster and invite presenters to give a brief 3–5 minute overview of their work, followed by a short question-and-answer period.

Please use the abstract submission form to submit by September 15, 2026.

ADA Statement: In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the University of California, Irvine fosters a culture of inclusion and equal opportunity for participants with disabilities. This is a campuswide responsibility and commitment. Reasonable accommodations will be made upon request.

To request an accommodation or if you experience difficulty accessing course materials, please contact the activity administrator or email [email protected] as early as possible, and preferably prior to the course date.

For more information, please contact Katherine Smith at [email protected].

The University of California, Irvine School of Medicine adheres to ACCME Standards for Integrity and Independance in Accredited Continuing Education regarding industry support of continuing medical education activities. Disclosure of faculty and their commercial relationships will be made prior to the activity.

Mitigation of Relevant Financial Relationships

University of California, Irvine School of Medicine Continuing Medical Education adheres to the ACCME’s Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education. Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CE activity, including faculty, planners, reviewers or others are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with ineligible entities (commercial interests). All relevant conflicts of interest have been mitigated prior to the commencement of the activity.

Member Information

Role in activity

Nature of Relationship(s) / Name of Ineligible Company(s)

Katherine Smith, BA
Event Specialist III
UCI School of Medicine

Activity Coordinator

Nothing to disclose

Paul Rosenblit, MD, PhD
Clinical Professor of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, Department of Medicine
Diabetes / Lipid Management & Research Center

Co-Director

Grant or research support-Novartis Corporation Pharmaceuticals|Grant or research support-Novo Nordisk (Any division)|Grant or research support-Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Simin Liu, MD, PhD
Distinguished Professor and Chair
UC Irvine School of Medicine

Co-Director, Faculty

Nothing to disclose

Shaista Malik, MD, PhD, MPH
Associate Vice Chancellor for Integrative Health; Professor & Program Director, Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship
UC Irvine School of Medicine

Co-Director, Faculty

Ownership-FluxWear

Nathan D. Wong, PhD, MPH
Professor and Director, Heart Disease Prevention Program
UC Irvine School of Medicine

Course Director, Faculty

Grant or research support-Novartis Corporation Pharmaceuticals|Consulting Fee-Novartis Corporation Pharmaceuticals|Consulting Fee-Amgen, Inc.|Consulting Fee-Ionis Pharmaceuticals|Grant or research support-Novo Nordisk (Any division) (Relationship has ended)|Consulting Fee-Heart Lung|Grant or research support-Amgen, Inc.|Speakers Bureau-Novartis Corporation Pharmaceuticals (Relationship has ended)

Harpreet S. Bhatia, MD, MD, MAS, FACC, FAHA, FASPC
University of California San Diego

Faculty

Advisor-Arrowhead|Honoraria-Amgen|Consulting Fee-Merck (Any division)|Advisor-Novartis Corporation Pharmaceuticals|Advisor-NewAmsterdam|Advisor-Bayer (Any division) (Relationship has ended)

Efrain Cerrato, MBA
Integrative Cardiac Rehabilitation Program Manager
UCI Health Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute

Faculty

Wenjun Fan, PhD
Assistant Professor
UC Irvine Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health

Faculty

Nothing to disclose

Yehuda Handelsman, MD
Medical Director & Principal Investigator
Metabolic Institute of America

Faculty

Grant or research support-Corcept|Grant or research support-Ionis|Grant or research support-Merck (Any division)|Grant or research support-Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.|Grant or research support-Verdiva Bio|Consulting Fee-Amgen, Inc. (Relationship has ended)|Advisor-AstraZeneca (Any division)|Advisor-Bayer (Any division)|Advisor-Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.|Advisor-Corcept|Advisor-Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.|Advisor-Verdiva Bio|Honoraria-Novo Nordisk (Any division)

Frank B. Hu, MD, PhD
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Faculty

Nothing to disclose

Sina Kianoush, MD, MPH
Dr
University of California - Irvine

Faculty

Nothing to disclose

Ali Mokdad, PhD
Professor
University of Washington, IHME

Faculty

Nothing to disclose

Pranav Patel, MD
Professor & Division Chief of Cardiology, Medicine
UC Irvine School of Medicine

Faculty

Nothing to disclose

Jamal S. Rana, MD, PhD
Chair
Kaiser Permanente Northern California

Faculty

Nothing to disclose

Paul D. Rosenblit, MD, PhD, FACE, FNLA
Professor of Medicine
UC Irvine School of Medicine

Faculty

Laurence Sperling, MD
Emory University School of Medicine

Faculty

Nothing to disclose

Janet Wei, MD, FACC, FAHA
Associate Professor
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Faculty

Grant or research support-Philips (Any division) (Relationship has ended)

John W. Zamarra, MD
Physician, Cardiology & Family Medicine
Transformation Health & Wellness

Faculty