Welcome Address

ESC Congress 2012

Dear Friends and colleagues,

The ESC Congress, the world’s premier conference on the science, management and prevention of cardiovascular disease, will shine its light on the latest cardiovascular science and research in the beautiful city of Munich from 25 – 29 August 2012.

We are delighted to invite you to join us for this unique event for cardiologists around the world.
The chosen spotlight of the congress is “From Bench to Practice”. Translating innovative science into daily clinical practice is a challenge shared by clinical scientists and clinical physicians. Only through concerted efforts can we continue to bring further improvements to patient care. By choosing translational science as its 2012 congress spotlight, the ESC will encourage critical discussion of new techniques and their rapid transfer into clinical medicine.

As always, the scientific programme will highlight the most relevant issues in the diagnosis, management and treatment of cardiovascular disease, ranging from basic to clinical and population research. More than ever, the ESC Congress is the forum at which researchers aspire to present their work. With over
10 000 abstracts submitted last year, the ESC Congress is a true representation of scientific developments in the field. Research from investigators around the world will be presented throughout the programme and in the form of special lectures and interactive education sessions.

The Congress Programme Committee, the ESC Working Groups, Associations, Councils and National Cardiac Societies are working with colleagues from across the globe on the programme. The special general cardiology and nursing sessions for physicians, nurses and technicians, will be maintained on popular demand. These sessions together with many other scientific sessions will open the ESC Congress 2012 on Saturday 25 August. Once again, a specific, dynamic, educational track throughout the congress known as ESC Cardiologists of Tomorrow will be organised to provide young cardiologists with some of the most relevant and up to date information on key areas in cardiovascular medicine.
This view would not be complete without the contributions of the healthcare industry. The technical exhibition, and industry educational sessions continue to break the new ground in terms of quality education and we acknowledge their ongoing support.

We encourage you to plan your experience at the ESC Congress 2012 as we do, in the finest detail, starting now. Submit your abstracts and make your contribution to the advancement of collaboration knowledge and patient care.

Yours sincerely,
Michel Komajda, Michael Böhm and all the members of the Congress Programme Committee

Michel Komajda
President
European Society of Cardiology

Michael Böhm
Chairperson
Congress Programme Committee