ESC Working Groups

ESC Board Member for Working Groups

Prof. Stephan Windecker, FESC, Bern, Switzerland

Stephan Windecker is Chairman of the Department of Cardiology at Bern University Hospital, Inselspital, Professor of Cardiology and Vice-Dean at the Medical Faculty of the University of Bern, Switzerland. He is an active clinical and interventional cardiologist Stephan’s research interests are clinical trials and registries with focus on the evaluation of devices and drugs for the treatment of coronary artery disease, antithrombotic therapy in patients treated with stents and heart valves, and research related to minimal-invasive heart valve treatment including transcatheter aortic, mitral and tricuspid valve interventions. Stephan has previously served as President of the European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI) of the ESC. Between 2016 and 2020, he served as Chair of the Clinical Practice Guideline Committee of the ESC. Since 2022, he is vice-president of the ESC.

The 15 Working Groups are the scientific backbone of the ESC

Primarily dedicated to research and education, they contribute to:

The organisation and preparation of ESC Congress, as well as scientific meetings, courses and symposia in specific areas of expertise.
Promote, design, coordinate and organise research in their specialty
Produce numerous field focused studies, registries, position papers, consensus documents and reviewing of ESC Clinical Practice Guidelines.
Disseminate scientific knowledge to bring the benefit of translational research to practising physicians
Gather and exchange information regarding research and related activities within the Working Group and with interest to members of the Working Group.
Organise teaching workshops
Recommend the establishment of ESC Task Forces to the Committee for Practice Guidelines and Policy Conferences to publish appropriate guidelines and recommendations and to set up Study Groups to discuss and publish issues of contemporary importance to the Working Group.

All Working Groups follow ESC statutes and participate in the mission statement of the ESC which is: To reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease

Membership

Discover the ESC Working Group that gets to the heart of your subspecialty in the cardiovascular field – they are networks that will make a difference to your research, your practice and your ongoing medical development.

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Working Groups Internal Governance

The ESC may create Working Groups for the study and advancement of particular subjects related to the heart and the vascular system. The creation or dissolution of a Working Group is decided by the Ordinary General Assembly of the ESC upon proposal of the ESC Board.

The internal governance of the ESC Working Groups is detailed in the ESC Working Groups Governance Procedure, an ESC Board approved document.

The present document is currently valid and approved by the ESC Board on 11 December 2019, with minor revisions approved by the ESC Management Group on 28 January 2022.

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