Type of sessions

Pre-arranged sessions are organised by the World Congress 2006 Programme Committee, the Science Council,the Working Groups and Associations of the European Society of Cardiology.

They consist of:

Main Sessions (MS) are sessions in which renowned experts present state of the art reviews on clinical cardiology, basic and clinical cardiovascular research, and epidemiology, with a perspective for today’s clinical practice.

Symposia (SY) allow for in-depth discussion of recent developments in the various fields of basic science, epidemiology and clinical cardiology.

Debates (DE) provide a lively yet balanced discussion on controversial issues.

How-to Sessions (HT) give a unique opportunity for intense interaction between a limited audience and two or three experts in various fields of clinical cardiology.

Clinical Seminars (CS) are designed to highlight what every clinician should know about specific subspecialty topics.

Basic Science Track is a series of sessions focusing on basic science related to cardiovascular disease. Renowned scientists review vascular biology, muscle biology, molecular biology and other areas of basic science related to the physiology and patho-physiology of the cardiovascular system. These sessions will be particularly attractive for basic scientists, but also for clinicians with an interest in basic science.

The highlight of the Congress: Cardiovascular diseases and ageing. The prevalence of many cardiovascular diseases increases exponentially with ageing, the management of older patients differs from that of younger patients and does not follow international guidelines. We will examine the reasons for this gap between recommendations and management of CVD and ageing.

Meet the experts was a new feature introduced at ESC Congress 2005: these one-hour lunch time sessions focused on practical management of cardiovascular diseases in daily situations. Each session dealt with two case presentations discussed by a panel of experts, and were referring to current ESC guidelines. They proved a huge success and will be continued for WCC 2006 with 6 sessions instead of 3.

Associations Corner The ESC Associations are:
- The European Association of Echocardiography (EAE)
- The European Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation (EACPR)
- The European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA)
- The Heart Failure Association of the ESC (HFA of the ESC)
90 minute sessions highlighting the major messages of their subspecialty annual meeting or the major breakthrough in their subspecialty over the past twelve months.

Named Lectures Renowned specialists will hold four prestigious European Society of Cardiology & World Heart Federation lectures: on clinical cardiology (the Grüntzig and Denolin lectures), on population sciences and on basic science.

World Heart Federation Science Initiatives are a series of sessions supporting the mission of the World Heart Federation to advance the prevention of heart disease and stroke in low and middle income countries. These sessions reflect the objectives of the Scientific Advisory Board and in particular the activities of the 3 scientific councils Clinical Cardiology, Epidemiology & Prevention and Rheumatic Fever/Rheumatic Heart Disease, the Foundation Advisory Board and the Board of Directors. These sessions include focus on the Global Health Agenda, Women and Heart Disease, Community and Policy Initiatives, Chagas disease and Rheumatic Fever/Rheumatic Heart disease. These sessions will be chaired and presented by experts in these fields and will be presented exclusively in the Lima room (Zone 1).

Joint sessions Specific sessions on key cardiovascular issues will be organised together with the American College of Cardiology (ACC), the American Heart Association (AHA), the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), the European Resuscitation Council (ERC), the Union of European Medical Specialists (UEMS), the European Heart Network (EHN), the European Stroke Conference (ESC), the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) and the World Heart Federation (WHF). These joint initiatives with leading international institutions will be the opportunity to discuss major cardiovascular issues.

Science Hot Line This session allows for submission of late-breaking experimental and clinical research. The deadline for submission was Monday 15 May 2006.

Hot Line / Clinical Trial Update Sessions
The Hot Line and Clinical Trial Update sessions will once again present the most important new clinical trial results relevant to clinical practice. The deadline for submission was Monday 1 May 2006.

Highlight Session This main session provides an overview of all the new and exciting developments, in basic and clinical sciences, presented at the congress. The entire congress is summarised for you within only 90 minutes!

Nursing Programme The European Society of Cardiology and the World Heart Federation acknowledge the contribution of nurses and laboratory technicians to patient care. Accordingly, a special programme will be presented focusing on nursing research in cardiovascular diseases.

Euro Heart Surveys New results of ongoing surveys will be presented during five dedicated sessions.

Guidelines Newly available important guidelines will be presented in Barcelona in dedicated main sessions on the ESC Clinical Practice Guidelines under the auspices of the Committee of Practice Guidelines (CPG).

Bench to Bedside Sessions presenting new science with emerging clinical implications dedicated to basic scientists as well as clinicians

Industry Satellites and Workshops Cooperation between clinicians, researchers and the pharmaceutical and technical industries has significantly contributed to a better understanding and management of patients with cardiovascular diseases. This is reflected in a series of more than 80 symposia organised by industry as part of the congress programme.
In addition, workshop sessions will address current practice of medical devices & equipment and other themes relevant to the control and prevention of cardiovascular diseases.

Nonprofit Organisation Symposia These so called "Nonprofit Organisation Symposia" are created by Medical Associations and Non Profit-based Institutes in the field of cardiology. These sessions take place beyond the WCC 2006 scientific programme.

EBAC Accredited Educational Programmes Recognition of the high quality of educational programmes is witnessed by accreditation from the European Board for Accreditation in Cardiology (EBAC). More than 20 such programmes take place beyond the WCC 2006 scientific programme, are organised by scientific or academic institutions and are supported by unrestricted educational grants.

FOCUS

The unrivalled Focus sessions will examine clinical practice situations as well as various intervention/imaging cases that every cardiologist should go home with.

FOCUS Cardiology Practice
These sessions address the needs of practicing cardiologists, focusing on patient-oriented clinical decision-making. Experienced clinicians will present cases and discuss diagnostic and therapeutic options with the audience in an interactive manner. The application of guidelines and optimal patient management, based on the clinical observations, laboratory examinations, echocardiography, electrophysiology, angiography, and other investigations are critically reviewed.

FOCUS Imaging Intervention
The Focus Imaging Intervention sessions address current problems and new developments in catheter-based and surgical interventions, as well as non-invasive diagnostic procedures. Experts will demonstrate these techniques live, and a panel will discuss their indications and their use in daily patient care. These sessions integrate unlimited audiovisual facilities, and interaction with the audience will be stimulated using a voting system.

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