President's Message

May 2026

Dear Virginia Chapter Members,

I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying spring (allergies and all)! The ACC held its annual Scientific Sessions in New Orleans at the end of March. It was a great opportunity to hear about the latest science, network with colleagues, and watch fellows compete on the Jeopardy stage (Virginia made the semi-final round). There was even an ACC parade with a band! The conference also marked the end of the very successful tenure of Dr. Christopher Kramer, MD, MACC as President of the national ACC. It also is the formal beginning, however, of the Governor-elect year of Dr. Rob Bernstein, MD, FACC.

 
It has been an especially busy front in Richmond for the Virginia legislature on healthcare issues. With the tireless work of Rob Bernstein, MD, FACC and Erin Bailey (ACC State Government Affairs Manager), there has been important action taken on a wide range of issues from prior authorization to automatic downcoding. Legislation on banning non-competes, which has been a multi-year effort to pass, is also awaiting the governor’s signature. 

 
Our Grand Rounds for All series continued in full swing with Dr. Christopher Kramer, MD, MACC speaking at VCU about the novel predictors of prognosis in HCM. June 2, the series continues: Inova Grand Rounds with Behnam Tehrani covering "Renal Denervation for Resistant Hypertension, What is New in 2026?"

 
Finally, if you are interested in being more involved in the activities of the Virginia chapter of the ACC, I urge you to consider applying for a committee position or a leadership position. This is a great way to have a voice in the direction of cardiology in Virginia, as well as meet a range of cardiology providers from across the state! The council application can be found here and the committee application is here.

Best regards to all,

Victor Soukoulis, MD, PhD, FACC

President, Virginia Chapter ACC 

VIRGINIA CHAPTER OF THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF CARDIOLOGY