Break for the border for cardiac care

Ahead of the Irish Cardiac Society Annual Scientific Meeting and AGM, President Prof Pascal McKeown
speaks with Pat Kelly about the line-up at this year’s event

The 75th Irish Cardiac Society (ICS) Annual Scientific Conference and AGM will this year be held from Thursday 17 to Saturday 19 October in the Europa Hotel, Belfast, and features a distinguished line-up of cardiology specialists. As always, the topics to be covered are designed to provide cardiologists with the latest perspectives in cardiac care.

Like every year, the conference will also incorporate the annual meetings of the Irish Cardiovascular Nurses Association, and the Irish Institute of Clinical Measurement Physiology (cardiac physiologists). There will also be a range of specialist subgroup meetings and the prestigious Brian Maurer Young Investigator Award.

The conference begins with the subgroup meetings, which will include case competitions, dedicated to the topics of intervention, electrophysiology, and imaging. The following day will mark the first full day of the Annual Scientific Meeting. The opening addresses will be given by ICS President  Prof Pascal McKeown  and Minister for Health for Northern Ireland Mike Nesbitt.

Cross-border care

Prof McKeown will introduce a session titled ‘Collaborative care across borders – Experiences, insights, and opportunities’, which builds on the theme of close cross-border co-operation for better cardiac care across the island of Ireland. Consultant in Paediatric and Foetal Cardiology Prof Frank Casey will deliver a presentation titled ‘Achieving excellence by collaboration: The All-Island Congenital Heart Disease Network’. This will be followed by a presentation from Dr Alison Muir and Dr Deirdre Ward, who will speak on the topic, ‘Inherited cardiac conditions across 32 counties – Cardiac genes don’t respect borders’. Prof Ken McDonald will also address this session with a talk about the HSE integrated care programme for cardiovascular disease.

As always, sessions at the conference will be interspersed with the highest-quality oral abstract presentations on a number of research subjects relevant to the specialty.

Prof McKeown spoke with the Medical Independent (MI) about the range of presenters and topics at this year’s event. “We have a very exciting programme at this year’s conference, with a broad range of national and international speakers. The American College of Cardiology (ACC) is also celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, so I am particularly delighted that Ms Cathie Biga, President of the ACC, and past ACC President Dr John Harold, are joining us for the meeting,” said Prof McKeown. “Prof Andre Ng, British Cardiovascular Society, will be joining us for the international session. Prof Sir Mark Caulfield is our Stokes Lecturer and he will reflect on advances in healthcare through the research undertaken as part of the 100,000 Genomes Project.”

He also touched on some new initiatives this year. “For the first time, we will be running a joint session with the editorial team at the European Heart Journal, with presentations by Prof Chiara Bucciarelli Ducci and Prof Bill McEvoy,” he told MI. “Prof Susanna Price (UK) and Prof Nathan Wong (US) will be providing keynote presentations at the heart failure and atherosclerosis sessions…. In addition, we have over 60 abstract presentations and updates on the cardiology training programme.”

Beyond the guidelines

The international session will see Ms Biga address the attendees with a talk titled ‘Cardiology beyond the guidelines: How to improve cardiovascular care delivery’. This will be followed by a talk from Prof Ng, President of the British Cardiovascular Society, and Dr Zain Sharif, who has a special interest in humanitarian medicine and cardiac electrophysiology. Dr Sharif will present on the topic, ‘Service development in resource-constrained environments – Preliminary Irish involvement with CVEF [Cardiovascular Education Foundation]’.

This is a very important year for the Society, as we are celebrating our 75th anniversary

This will be followed by the Irish Atherosclerosis Society Session, which will be chaired by Dr Ian Menown and Prof Vincent Maher and will feature a talk by Prof Nathan D Wong, Professor and Director of the Heart Disease Prevention Programme at the University of California and past-President of the American Society for Preventive Cardiology. Prof Wong will speak on the topic of ‘Optimising atherosclerotic cardiovascular risk assessment and risk reduction: From concept to practice’.

As pointed out by Prof McKeown, this year’s Stokes Lecture 2024 will be delivered by Prof Sir Mark Caulfield, Vice-Principal for Health at Queen Mary University, London, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, and Director of the NIHR Barts Biomedical Research Centre, UK, and is titled ‘The 100,000 Genomes Project: Transforming healthcare’.

Privilege

Prof McKeown also spoke about his time as President, and the evolution of the Society during that period. “It has been an immense privilege to serve as the President of the Irish Cardiac Society during the period 2022-2024, and I have had tremendous support from the Council and the wider membership,” he told MI.

“This is a very important year for the Society, as we are celebrating our 75th anniversary. My predecessor, Prof Vinnie Maher, led the development of the Strategic Plan 2022-2027, with its focus on the five pillars of education, registries, research, advocacy, and governance.

“The Society has received great support from key partners, including the American College of Cardiology, British Cardiovascular Society, and the European Society of Cardiology. In late 2023, the Society was awarded charitable status. On 4 July 2024, at a high-level EU Ministerial conference in Budapest, representatives from all the EU Ministries of Health discussed the need to improve cardiovascular health in Europe, as well as prioritisation of cardiovascular health plans at both a national and European level. This is a major milestone and the Society continues to be a strong advocate for cardiovascular health.”

Cardiogenic shock

The final day of the conference features the annual cardiology education and training update, chaired by Prof Briain MacNeill and Dr Ross Murphy. This will be followed by the heart failure subgroup meeting, chaired by Dr Patricia Campbell, Prof Emer Joyce, and Dr Alastair Gray, and the highly anticipated heart failure case competition. Prof Suzanna Price of Royal Brompton Hospital, London, UK, will address the conference with a talk titled ‘Treatment of cardiogenic shock: Early recognition and intervention to transform outcomes’. The conference will conclude with the ICS/European Heart Journal joint session, and Prof Bill McEvoy will discuss ‘Hypertension guidelines’.

Concluding, Prof McKeown spoke about his successor and President-elect, Prof Brendan McAdam. “As my term as President comes to a close, I have the honour of handing over the role to the President-elect, Prof Brendan McAdam, who is based at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin,” he commented. “Prof McAdam brings a wealth of experience to the role, as he previously worked in the US and has been the Training Programme Director for Cardiology in Ireland.

“In the coming years, the Society looks forward to enhancing its role on the global stage and its very fruitful partnerships with the American, British, and European societies.”