Acute Cardiovascular Care 2014 is the event of the year for the latest science in the field. It is the annual meeting of the Acute Cardiovascular Care Association (ACCA) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and takes place 18-20 October in Geneva, Switzerland.
Acute cardiovascular care is the specialty of cardiology dealing with acute problems in need of urgent care including heart attack, cardiac arrest, and acute heart failure. The scientific programme is available here.
The first ever hotline session will be held this year, providing journalists with access to late breaking results from clinical trials and registries in the field of acute cardiovascular care. Professor Maddalena Lettino, chair of the congress programme committee, said: “Original data focused on acute patients will be presented in a top level forum by researchers from across the globe.”
Journalists will discover the latest therapies and innovations during 3 days packed with science. More than 400 novel scientific abstracts will be presented in different formats including a fast paced and interactive rapid fire session.
Professor Lettino said: “New data will be presented by investigators from different healthcare professions covering all cardiovascular diseases that pass through the emergency department to intensive care. This will include the acute phase of heart failure and acute coronary syndromes.”
Over 40 high quality scientific sessions will be held including main symposia and debates on controversial issues including antiplatelet therapy in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) and pretreatment with P2Y12 inhibitors for non ST-elevation myocardial infarction ACS patients.
Professor Lettino said: “Journalists will hear the most recent advances in the field of acute decompensated heart failure. International experts will present novel biomarkers for predicting prognosis and emerging technologies for treating these patients in the intensive care unit.”
This year’s theme is the highly vulnerable patient. The scientific programme will feature sessions dedicated to developments in the management of these patients using the know-how of several disciplines and healthcare professions. Topics include how to ensure a rapid emergency response, the use of modern communications tools such as transmission of the 12-lead ECG, plus early and accurate diagnosis in the pre-hospital phase and in the emergency department.
Professor Lettino said: “The programme on highly vulnerable patients includes all categories of acute cardiovascular disease. Acute coronary syndromes, heart failure and acute vascular disease belong to a common family of diseases that need optimal emergency treatment.”
She added: “Under the congress theme we will discuss topical issues in patients with out of hospital cardiac arrest, the phase immediately after resuscitation, cardiogenic shock and acute coronary syndromes. Journalists should look out for the innovative research that will be presented on how to identify which patients are more vulnerable than others and could have a poor prognosis unless action is taken.”
Cardiogenic shock has been added as a new topic, reflecting the fact that it bears a worse outcome than acute heart failure alone. Professor Lettino said: “The death rate is 40-50% which is still too high. The congress will showcase cutting edge technologies and devices that could impact on the prognosis of these patients. This is a difficult group to study and journalists may find this research of particular interest.”
More than 1 300 people from 60 countries are set to attend including journalists, cardiologists, emergency care physicians, intensive care physicians, internists, surgeons, imaging specialists, interventionalists, nurses and paramedics.
Professor Héctor Bueno, President Elect and Acting President of ACCA, said: “Journalists can expect an exceptional event, full of fresh research in the hotlines, original abstracts and scientific sessions.”
Our mission: To reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease.