Obesity Care, Preventive Cardiology, and Technology Take Center Stage at ESC Congress 2024

In rooms named to mirror the international contingent that will be attending the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2024—Rabat, Brussels, Warsaw, and Bishkek, to name a few—this annual meeting of the top minds in the cardiology arena is set to kick off on Friday, August 30, in London, and run through Monday, September 2.

John McMurray, MD, FRCP, FESC

Image Credit: University of Glasgow

“We have a really exciting, comprehensive program to offer. It’s even bigger and better than last year,” says John McMurray, MD, FRCP, FESC, 2022-2024 ESC Congress Programme Committee chair and professor of medical cardiology at the University of Glasgow, in a preview video of the conference. “It was put together by the Congress Programme Committee, representing all aspects of cardiology. More than 60 people from across the world.”¹

Abstract submissions reached a record total this year; 4451 will be presented over the 4 days of the meeting by 3700 attendees from 92 countries. There will also be 220 scientific sessions headed by approximately 1900 faculty from 90 countries, half of whom are women. With practice-changing implications for patient treatment, there will be 12 Hot Line sessions spread throughout the meeting, covering the most recent data from clinical trials on disease states, therapies, and technology that include 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).

With the Congress Programme Committee also recognizing the contributions of obesity medicine and management in the cardiovascular space, and that this has very much become a public health issue, there is an Obesity Track this year, which will be spread over 12 sessions. Digital Health is another noted track, with 24 sessions highlighting how this technology has been able to transform all branches of cardiology care, as is the Clinical Implementation Track, with 29 sessions meant to facilitate optimal use of evidence and proven treatments in cardiology care. Other specialized tracks for the congress include General Cardiology for Physicians, Technicians and General Practitioners; Includes a Patient Perspective; Nurses and Allied Professionals; and Young Community.

This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the ESC Guidelines, and with 4 new guidelines released this year on elevated blood pressure and hypertension, chronic coronary syndromes, atrial fibrillation, and peripheral arterial and aortic diseases, sessions on the guidelines are sure to be significant, with lively discussions between session attendees and the guidelines’ authors.

Additional topics of note that will be woven throughout the congress are arrhythmias and device therapy, basic science, cardiovascular disease in special populations, cardiovascular pharmacology, cardiac imaging, preventive cardiology, interventional cardiology and cardiovascular surgery, and coronary artery disease, acute coronary syndrome, and acute cardiac care.

Media professionals covering the congress will want to take special note of the 9 press conferences scheduled between Thursday, August 29 and Monday, September 1, which will provide advanced access to news on the 12 Hot Line session clinical trials and the newest ESC guidelines.

Martha Gulati, MD

Image Credit: 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 Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and immediate past president of the American Society of Preventive Cardiology, noted her excitement for the late-breaking science that will cover newer medications in the preventive space—especially those used to treat obesity and heart failure—and what mechanistic pathways drive the benefits of these therapeutic interventions.

“The ESC Congress always proves to be one of the best meetings out there,” she said. “One of the best parts of this meeting is that people come from all over the world to be together and to share science and to talk about other important topics that aren't always the late-breaking clinical trials necessarily, but are clinical issues that we deal with.”²

References

1. McMurray J. Welcome to 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