Your boy is back in Chicago! Unlike the last time I was here, when my goal was to attend the AHA meeting and find the start of historic Route 66, the purpose of my trip this time is threefold, to: (1) attend the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology (ACC), (2) formally accept my ACC/Merck award, and (3) be awesome. This is Chicago at night:

The moment I arrived I went to Topman, a cool British clothing store that only has stores in New York and Chicago. I have been waiting to buy myself a new suit, and I definitely did that. (Goal 3: check.)

Afterwards I went to a reception by the Merck Foundation that honored us four new awardees. It was a very enjoyable reception, and it was very flattering that they honored us with one. This board listed all current/previous awardees

And here I am:

There were lots of Merck and ACC bigwigs, and here we are with ACC president Jack Lewin.

Then we went to eat at the Publican. The array of lights on the ceiling looked really cool, even though this picture doesn’t do it justice.

Publican was a great gastropub that specializes in foods featuring pig or fish. We ate tasty cioppino, pork belly, and porchetta (not sure what that was, but it sure tasted good.)

The next morning, Sunday, I woke up early to attend the Late Breaking Clinical Trials session. I watched a stimulating talk on the use of rivaroxaban for treating PEs as well as the 2-year outcomes of the PARTNER trial. So stimulating I fell asleep a few times. (Goal 1: check.)

Poster time. The abstract I submitted for this conference is just a teaser of the big news that we’ll unleash in May at Heart Rhythm Society. But here I am with Dr. Narayan, trying to change the world … one rotor at a time.

I snuck away at lunch time to try the deep dish pizza that Chicago is so known for. We ended up at Gino’s East and shared this awesome (and huge) pizza.

And finally, on Monday night, came time for the Convocation Ceremony. This is where we would formally be acknowledged for our award. It was a very grand ceremony in the main tent, where all the current and former ACC leadership were present. Everyone, including us, were dressed up in graduation gowns, and we got to sit on the front stage looking out at the crowd. When the ceremony began, the lights dimmed, weird music played, and someone dressed in funny clothes presented the ACC president with a weird sceptor/rod. It was a little weird initially, but the rest was fine. (Goal 2: check.)

Overall, a great trip.