Innovation Forum – New for 2026!
McCormick Place Convention Center | Chicago, Illinois
Turn ideas into impact
Join a one-day, high-impact experience at American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2026 designed for the full cardiovascular innovation community. Whether you are a clinician working to solve care challenges, a researcher exploring commercialization, an entrepreneur ready to grow, or an investor seeking promising opportunities, the Innovation Forum offers expert perspectives, actionable strategies, and the relationships that help ideas gain traction.
Date: Friday, November 6, 2026
Time: 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Note: This forum requires a registration separate from the in-person Scientific Sessions 2026 registration.
(Already Registered? Add the Innovation Forum)
Forum Highlights
- Turn Ideas into Action
Explore how clinical insights, research discoveries, and emerging technologies can become real-world solutions that improve cardiovascular care. - Understand the Funding Landscape
Understand grants, venture capital, partnerships, and the pathways that help promising ideas move from concept to scale. - Assess Opportunity and Impact
Learn how to evaluate unmet needs, market potential, competitive landscape, and the factors that drive adoption and growth. - Connect with the Right People
Build relationships with clinicians, researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, and industry leaders who can help advance ideas, partnerships, and growth. - See What’s Next in Innovation
Discover emerging trends and solutions across diagnostics, devices, AI, digital health, and community-based care.
Who should attend?
- Clinicians ready to turn frontline insight into impact
- Researchers seeking a path from discovery to commercialization
- Founders looking to grow, connect, and accelerate
- Investors and strategic partners searching for the next breakthrough
- Leaders and innovators across digital health, AI, devices, and diagnostics ready to shape the future of cardiovascular care
Who should apply?
The American Heart Association's Innovation Forum Early-Stage Pitch Competition is designed for pre-seed healthcare startups and emerging companies developing innovative solutions to improve cardiovascular health and patient outcomes. This competition is intended for entrepreneurs and founding teams who are in the early stages of company development and have not yet raised seed funding.
We encourage applications from companies that are:
- Pre-seed stage and preparing for future growth or fundraising
- Developing innovative solutions in areas such as digital health, artificial intelligence, medical devices, diagnostics, therapeutics, remote monitoring, care delivery innovation, clinical decision support, or consumer health
- Focused on addressing cardiovascular disease, stroke, hypertension, heart failure, arrhythmias, CKM syndrome, prevention, or related healthcare challenges
- Building evidence for their solution through pilots, validation studies, customer experience, clinical data, or other early indicators of impact
- Seeking opportunities to gain visibility, receive feedback from industry leaders, and connect with healthcare, investor, and innovation stakeholders
Whether you are refining a breakthrough concept, validating an early product, or preparing for your next stage of growth, this competition offers an opportunity to showcase your innovation within the cardiovascular health ecosystem.
Please note: The Early-Stage Pitch Competition is an educational and networking opportunity. Participation does not constitute investment, funding, endorsement, commercialization, partnership, or business relationship with the American Heart Association, judges, sponsors, or attendees.
Apply to Pitch Your Idea
We invite innovators to submit their ideas for a chance to be featured in the Early-Stage Pitch Showcase.
Selected participants will pitch live and gain visibility with clinicians, investors, entrepreneurs, and strategic collaborators.
Program Agenda
This program brings together expert perspectives, real-world lessons, and high-value networking for those shaping the future of cardiovascular health.
Note: Specific session times are subject to change.
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 9:00 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. | So You Want to Be an Entrepreneur Hear founders share key pivots, lessons learned, and practical advice for moving from academia to entrepreneurship. |
| 9:45 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. | Finding & Validating a High-Value Idea Learn how to identify, test, and refine promising ideas with insight into unmet needs, market opportunity, and differentiation. |
| 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. | Funding Your Venture Explore how to secure capital, navigate funding stages, and tell a story that resonates with investors. |
| 11:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. | American Heart Association as Your Innovation Partner See how the Association supports innovators through funding, venture support, data resources, and strategic connections. |
| 12:00 p.m.to 1:00 p.m. | Networking Lunch Connect with founders, investors, and peers in a networking experience designed to spark ideas and collaboration. |
| 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. | Venture Showcase: Established Companies Hear how leading companies are advancing innovation in cardiovascular and brain health and scaling growth and adoption. |
| 2:30 p.m to 4:00 p.m. | Early-Stage Pitch Showcase Watch emerging ventures pitch live and gain an insider’s view of what investors and industry experts look for. |
| 4:00 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. | Closing Panel: Synthesis & Reflection Hear leaders highlight key themes, emerging trends, and practical next steps for innovators. |
| 4:45 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. | Closing Reception & Happy Hour Continue the conversation in an engaging setting designed to foster relationships and open the door to new opportunities. |