Atrial Disease Workshop

The HFA Atrial Disease workshop is a joint initiative of HFA Committees on Co-morbidities, the Translational Research Committee, the Committee on Surveys, Registries and Epidemiology, Committee of HFPEF and the Committee on Cardiomyopathies of the Heart Failure Association.

The atria play may a major role in the circulatory system and are affected by a number of conditions (valve disease, hypertension, heart failure, congenital disease, pulmonary hypertension, lung disease and atrial fibrillation/flutters syndromes). It is misleading to view Atrial Fibrillation as an isolated entity, independent of atrial function or the disorders that pre-dispose to it.

Atrial disorders are extremely common, cause untold morbidity and expense, they also complicate many disorders in cardiology and beyond.  Yet no specialist society has codified Atrial disorders, an essential step towards increasing awareness, enhanced research and ultimately clinical practice advice for the betterment of patients and cost reduction for healthcare systems.

Coordinators of the workshop

Prof. Frank Ruschitzka
President of the Heart Failure Association

Prof. Petar Seferovic
President-Elect of the Heart Failure Association

Prof. Andrew Coats
HFA Board member
Chair of the Co-morbidities Committee

Prof. Rudolf de Boer
HFA Board member
Chair of the Basic Science section

Prof. Lars Lund
HFA Board member
Chair of the Surveys, Registries and Epidemiology

Prof. Stephane Heymans
HFA Board member
Chair of the Translational Research Committee

Objectives

Gathering more than 31 experts, this workshop will focus on Atrial Fibrillation and Heart Failure co-treatment with the aim to define and analyse the concept of Atrial Disease as a Heart Failure syndrome and to publish a paper entitled “Codifying atrial disease: pathophysiology, epidemiology and treatment” in the European Journal of Heart Failure.

Sessions

• Background: atrial fibrillation and heart failure
• Basic mechanisms         
• Treatment of atrial myopathy
• Oral anti-coagulants (NOACs) in AF (hypercoagulability)
• Upstream therapy of AF and HF
• Future research to better treat AF and HF together