Bringing together some of the finest minds in cardiology with venues named to reflect the international delegates attending the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2024 (including Rabat, Brussels, Warsaw and Bishkek), the annual conference kicks off in London on Friday 30 August and is due to run until Monday 2 September.
John McMurry, MD, FRCP, FESC
Image courtesy of University of Glasgow
“We're delivering a really exciting and comprehensive program – even bigger and better than last year,” John McMurray, MD, FRCP, FESC, chair of the 2022-2024 ESC Conference Program Committee and professor of medical cardiology at the University of Glasgow, said in a preview video for the conference. “It's been put together by a Conference Program Committee representing all aspects of cardiology, with over 60 participants from around the world.”1
This year's conference will see a record number of abstract submissions, with 3,700 attendees from 92 countries expected to deliver 4,451 presentations over the four-day conference. There will also be 220 scientific sessions led by approximately 1,900 faculty from 90 countries, half of whom are women. Given their practice-changing impact on patient care, 12 hotline sessions will be held throughout the conference, featuring the latest data from clinical trials on disease conditions, treatments and technologies, including cardiomyopathy (HELIOS-B), hypertension (BedMed and BedMed-Frail), antiplatelet therapy (ASSURE DES), atrial fibrillation (OCEANIC-AF), myocardial infarction (SENIOR RITA), heart failure (CRABL-HF), and the use of artificial intelligence in stress echocardiography (PROTEUS) and chest pain (RAPIDxAI).
The Congress Program Committee recognises the contribution that obesity medicine and management makes to the cardiovascular field and its growing importance as a public health issue, which is why this year there will be an Obesity Track, split into 12 sessions. Digital Health is another featured track, with 24 sessions showcasing how this technology has been able to transform all areas of cardiology care, as well as the Clinical Implementation Track, with 29 sessions aimed at promoting the optimal use of evidence and proven therapies in cardiology care. Other specialty tracks at the Congress include General Cardiology for physicians, technologists and general practitioners, including the patient perspective, nurses and allied professionals, and the young community.
This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the ESC guidelines, and four new guidelines on hypertension, chronic coronary syndromes, atrial fibrillation, and peripheral arterial and aortic diseases were published this year, so the session on guidelines will undoubtedly be fruitful, with lively discussions taking place between session participants and guideline developers.
Other notable topics covered throughout the conference include arrhythmias and device therapy, basic science, cardiovascular disease in special populations, cardiovascular pharmacology, cardiac imaging, preventive cardiology, interventional cardiology and cardiovascular surgery, coronary artery disease, acute coronary syndromes and acute cardiac care.
Media representatives covering the conference should pay particular attention to the nine press conferences scheduled between Thursday 29 August and Monday 1 September, which will provide early access to clinical trial news from the 12 Hotline sessions and the latest ESC guidelines.
Martha Gulati, MD
Image courtesy of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
In an interview with The American Journal of Managed Care® ahead of the conference, Martha Gulati, MD, director of preventive cardiology at the Schmidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and immediate past president of the American Society of Preventive Cardiology, said she is excited by the latest science on new medications in the prevention field, particularly those used to treat obesity and heart failure, and the mechanistic pathways that drive the benefits of these interventions.
“The ESC meeting has always proven to be one of the best,” she says. “One of the best things about it is that people come from all over the world to share science and discuss other important topics, not necessarily the latest clinical trials, but the clinical problems that we’re working on.”2
References
1. McMurray J. Welcome to the ESC Congress 2024 London. European Society of Cardiology. Accessed August 27, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDikGjNXauY&t=7s
2. Grossi G. Dr Martha Gulati Previews ESC 2024: Obesity, Heart Failure and the Ongoing Debate on HRT. AJMC®. August 26, 2024. Accessed August 27, 2024. https://www.ajmc.com/view/dr-martha-gulati-previews-esc-2024-obesity-heart-failure-and-the-ongoing-debate-on-hrt
