Heart Café

The Heart Café will welcome congress delegates with coffee and tea as we invite you to join us for a series of interactive discussions on key topics in the field of cardiovascular disease, noncommunicable diseases and global health.

Location: Heart Café Stage – Lounge & Learn, Hall B

SATURDAY, 4 MARCH

SUNDAY, 5 MARCH

MONDAY, 6 MARCH

Up to 50% of patients who are prescribed medication for primary prevention of coronary heart disease, and 34% prescribed medication for secondary prevention, do not adhere to their treatment. Improving adherence to medications can therefore prevent a significant number of unnecessary cardiovascular events and deaths. This session will look at the complexities of improving adherence and how health professionals can help patients better follow their regimens. A special focus will be given to Fixed Dose Combination Therapies. Therapies of statins and antihypertensives, with or without aspirin, administered in a single pill which can dramatically decrease the risk of myocardial infarction and stroke. FDCs, or the polypill, have also been shown to increase adherence to essential preventative cardiovascular medication. Panellists will explore why implementation of FDCs has been slow, despite increasing evidence of their effectiveness and potential to improve adherence and overall outcomes.

Speakers:

Sarah Kraus

University of Cape Town

Fernando Lanas

Universidad de la Frontera

Elijah Ogola

Pan African Society of Cardiology

Moderated by:

Thomas Gaziano

World Heart Federation

Obesity is widely recognised as a major public health issue. Globally, the rates of obesity have been steadily increasing and current projections suggest that nearly 2.7 billion adults may be overweight or obese by 2025. People living with overweight/obesity are at greater risk for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Increased body fat, particularly visceral/abdominal fat, is linked to CV risk and CVD via multiple direct and indirect pathophysiological mechanisms. Obesity is a complex condition triggered by interlinking causes, from genetics to dysfunctional food systems, to social deprivation. Despite these complexities, most of the current public discourse places the blame solely on the individual. Instead, a whole-of-society approach is needed to reduce exposures to health-harming commercial actors and activities to create a healthier environment for all. The panel will discuss effectiveness of existing strategies including trans-fat elimination, front of pack labelling, sugar sweetened beverage taxes and highlight areas where more needs to be done.

Speakers:

Modou Jobe

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Dorairaj Prabhakaran

Public Health Foundation of India

Philip Schauer

Louisiana State University

Moderated by:

Mariachiara Di Cesare

University of Essex

Once entirely confined to Latin America, in the last decades Chagas disease has become an increasingly global public health problem, being detected in Europe, the United States of America, and some countries in Africa, the Middle East and the Pacific due to migration. Around 30% of infected people will develop chagas cardiomyopathy with a significant proportion going on to develop heart failure. Frequently underdiagnosed by health professionals and even cardiologists this session looks at the major knowledge gaps in our management and treatment of chagasic heart failure while discussing where research priorities should lie.

Speakers:

Luis Echeverria

Fundación Cardiovascular de Colombia

Rachel Marcus

Medstar Union Memorial Hospital

Antonio Ribeiro

Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

Saate Shakil

University of Washington

Moderated by:

Daniel Piñeiro

World Heart Federation

According to the World Health Organization, air pollution causes approximately 7 million deaths every year worldwide, making it the world’s largest single environmental health risk. Approximately half of these deaths are due to heart disease and stroke. Addressing this issue will not only help to contain the rising burden of NCDs and its strain on health systems, but also support the progress towards multiple SDGs and the achievement of Universal Health Coverage by 2030. Join our panel of local and international experts in discussing the cross-cutting impacts of air pollution on heart health and the concrete actions that can be taken at every level to improve air quality.

Speakers:

Amam Mbakwem

World Heart Federation

Andrew Moran

Resolve to Save Lives

Dorairaj Prabhakaran

Public Health Foundation India

Moderated by:

Diana Vaca McGhie

American Heart Association

A growing body of evidence has shown links between respiratory infections (either by influenza or pneumococcal pneumonia) and the incidence of acute myocardial infarction or cardiovascular death. Cardiovascular complications and mortality occur in vulnerable populations during influenza epidemics, which means that patients with chronic cardiovascular diseases are particularly at-risk during this period. The panel of experts discuss the use of influenza vaccination as effective strategy to reduce the incidence of respiratory infections and cardiovascular complications, how health professionals can engage their patients and increase awareness of the benefits of influenza vaccination, and models of care that can facilitate vaccine uptake among at-risk patients.

Speakers:

Keith Ferdinand

Tulane School of Medicine

Eileen Handberg

Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association

Alvaro Sosa Liprandi

University of Buenos Aires

Moderated by:

Pablo Perel

World Heart Federation

CVD remains a leading cause of death in women in many countries. However, it is frequently under-diagnosed, and under-treated. Underrepresentation in research remains a barrier to identifying, managing, and preventing CVD in women. The failure to adequately study CVD in both sexes has led to often sub-optimal management of this group. This places a serious burden on women’s health, threatening the most vulnerable girls, women and communities across the globe. CVD impacts girls and women who are left exposed through persistent social, gender and economic inequalities and overall pervasive inequities in access to health information, appropriate access to care and life-saving technologies.

Speakers:

Martha Gulati

Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute

Mamas Mamas

Keele University

Erin D. Michos

Moderated by:

Diana Vaca McGhie

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating physical, mental and fiscal impact on the millions of people living with CVD, as they have a higher risk of severe illness and death from SARS-CoV-2. In addition, emerging evidence suggests that surviving an acute episode of COVID-19 could also result in an increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. Countries need to take transformative actions to build stronger, more resilient health systems and workforce that can better prevent, prepare for, and respond to future shocks while maintaining essential health services for people affected by CVD. We look at ways health systems can boost their resilience.