Barcelona was a fantastic success thanks to all of you, to your participation, to the wonderful programme presented by the ESC Congress Programme Committee (CPC), to the Congress Division and all the other ESC Divisions, and to the city of Barcelona. We scored a record attendance of 33,000 active participants which goes to show we are the biggest cardiological congress worldwide. This is something that the ESC President can only be immensely proud of...
In Barcelona, a lot of good basic and clinical science was presented. I was particularly impressed by the improvement of the Basic Science papers. I also learnt quite a lot from the Hot Lines and the many sessions that I managed to attend.
In terms of Hot Lines the presentation of the RE-LY study will change our practice, because Dabigatran will help all those patients who need anticoagulant therapy, as they will no longer have to go to the anticoagulation clinics. This is quite an achievement.
PLATO also provided a new therapeutic possibility with Ticagrelor, a new P2Y12 receptor blocker, which led to an astonishing mortality reduction over a 12-month period compared to standard of care consisting of Clopdogrel combined with Aspirin.
In the area of Heart Failure we learnt with REVERSE that ICDs and CRT are the way forward, in addition to medical therapy. If you want to learn more, an article in JACC will soon be published for our American colleagues.
But Barcelona was much more than just a Congress. I always like to think of the ESC congress as a medieval fair where everybody is eager to come and to participate because they know that, for five days, the cardiovascular agenda is right there. The congress organisers put together a beautiful membership area for the members to relax, work on their computers, exchange ideas, etc. Also, the exhibition area was as crowded as a medieval fair with a lot of noise, lights, excitement, exchange of information and requests.
Barcelona also gave ESC Committees the opportunity to have their meetings and kick-start many exciting projects. The Survey on Heart Failure was launched under the new set of rules, and the Survey on Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation was agreed on, so the scientific department of the ESC is currently working on it.
In Barcelona we also had the opportunity to meet with all the National Societies (NS) and together decide which would be the topic of the next joint ESC/NS session at each of the NS's congresses. These joint sessions are a fantastic means for the dissemination of the ESC Guidelines.
In Barcelona four ESC Clinical Practice Guidelines (three of them being updates of pre-existing documents) were released on Syncope, Pulmonary Hypertension and Infective Endocarditis and for the first time new ESC Guidelines on a very important practical aspect of our practice, the Management of Cardiac Risk in Non-Cardiac Surgery.
Barcelona was also a place for External Affairs to discuss our relationship in terms of prevention, research and devices, with the European Union. Progress was made particularly in the field of prevention, as the Spanish Presidency of the EU will have cardiovascular health high on its health agenda, in an attempt to achieve its goal of a recommendation from the Council of Health Ministers.
Last, but not least, the new humanitarian initiative (European Heart for Children, EHC) was launched. Thanks to the partners of the Board members, a stand was set up and manned. All in all they managed to raise a substantial amount of money that will be used to support at least 2-3 scholarships. In addition, the EHC initiative has already received three echo systems and several devices which, I am sure, will be of help in the future. Furthermore, it also received a Gold Medal from Hospital Clinico San Carlos, which is an official recognition.
All of this in five days! We are now back to our daily routine practice but the ESC Congress is still in our hearts. The scope book for ESC Congress 2010 is well under way and is currently being graded. I thank you for all your input. The CPC, under the chairmanship of Professor Fausto Pinto, is working on the preparation of another excellent programme for ESC Congress 2010 in Stockholm, with new ideas and surprises, and we look forward to seeing you there.
At the end of November we have an important appointment at the European Heart House in Sophia Antipolis with the Associations Forum and the ESC Working Group meetings. These meetings will be followed by the two-day long Congress Programme Committee meeting. As you can see, the ESC is a very active Society and it a great feeling to be safe in the knowledge that its members are enthusiastically taking part in all of the activities.
I would also like to take this opportunity to remind you that the call for abstracts will open mid-December and we hope that you will all submit your research data in order to participate in the selection. Next year’s spotlight is: Coronary artery disease: From genes to outcomes. We count on you!
Roberto Ferrari
ESC President