ESC Congress 2018 – Tips on what not to miss

Munich, 21 August 2018: Journalists are invited to follow the ESC Congress 2018 press programme for tips on the hottest research in cardiology this year. Journalists on site will receive embargoed material.

There will be five hot line press conferences as well as three lifestyle press conferences with the themes:

• Is this really good for you? Challenging conventional wisdom. Topics include how much carbohydrate to eat, is “good” cholesterol actually good, the impact of endurance exercise, and how much holiday we need.
• The ZZZs of heart health: the art of good sleeping. Find out how much sleep is needed for heart health and the music to listen to before going to sleep.
• The mind and the heart. Discover the impact of mental status on outcomes of patients with heart disease and the hidden impact of atrial fibrillation on the brain.

Professor Stephan Achenbach, Chairperson of the ESC Congress Programme Committee and ESC President Elect, gives his tips on the hot lines to look out for:

•  Two blockbuster trials of aspirin for preventing first heart attacks and strokes – the ARRIVE trial in more than 12,000 individuals at moderate risk and the ASCEND trial in more than 15,000 patients with diabetes.
• The PURE study on what food to eat for heart health and longevity – investigated in over 200,000 people from more than 50 countries.
• The MARINER trial which tested a new concept of continuing oral anticoagulation following discharge from hospital to prevent potentially fatal blood clots after acute conditions including heart attack and pneumonia.
• The COMMANDER HF trial on whether oral anticoagulation improves survival and reduces heart attack and stroke in patients with heart failure who do not have atrial fibrillation.
• The MITRA.fr study, which will show whether treating the mitral valve with a device inserted via a catheter is advantageous in patients with heart failure.
• The ATTR-ACT trial, which assessed the efficacy and safety of tafamidis in transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy, a condition with few treatment options.
• The High-STEACS trial of more than 47,000 patients with suspected heart attack, which will reveal whether diagnosis using high-sensitivity troponin leads to more or less deaths and repeat heart attacks after one year.

A total of 92 late breaking science studies will be presented during ESC Congress 2018, including 17 Late Breaking Clinical Trials, six Clinical Trial Updates, and 20 Registries. Late breaking science sessions will be held on transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), interventional cardiology, telemedicine, pharmacological science, imaging, arrhythmias and electrophysiology, heart failure, and basic and translational science.

ENDS