Heart failure: world experts in Palermo for an international conference sponsored by ISMETT and Ri.MED
Heart failure is affecting more than 25 million people worldwide. In Italy, heart failure affects 1 million people, of whom 70 thousand in Sicily, and is the second leading cause of death.
The management of heart failure, current epidemiology, challenges, and perspectives will be discussed at the international conference “Management of Heart failure: Current Challenges and Future Perspectives,”starting on June 7, in Palermo, Italy.
For three days, in the conference room of the Circolo Unificato in Piazza Sant’Oliva, world renown experts will meet to discuss clinical and epidemiological questions, imaging techniques, biomarkers, electrophysiology, cardiac surgery and interventional procedures, heart transplantation and ventricular assist devices, as well as innovations, such as telemedicine, genetics, and bioengineering models in the field of heart failure.
This scientific project is sponsored by IRCCS ISMETT and the Ri.MED Foundation. ISMETT, because it is a research hospital (IRCCS), is part of an Italian cardiology network with other Italian research hospitals. Researchers at the Ri.MED Foundation, trained in Pittsburgh, work closely with ISMETT clinicians on advanced translational research projects for the benefit of patients, and for the development of patents. The conference program will also see the participation of some young Sicilian researchers, who will present the results of their studies to the international audience.
The symposium is organized with the support of the Fondazione Internazionale Menarini, established to promote research and knowledge in the fields of biology, pharmacology and medicine, as well as economy and human sciences.
“Heart failure,” explains Dr. Francesco Clemenza, Chief of ISMETT’s Cardiology Unit, and chairman of the conference, “is a burgeoning disease from an epidemiological and financial perspective, due to the high costs associated with its management and, more specifically, the frequent hospitalizations. The goal of the conference is to address all aspects of this modern epidemic. We want to facilitate a multidisciplinary approach and a network between all medical and research professionals involved in the management of heart failure.”
“One important thing is the contribution that cardiac surgery can bring to the treatment of the most advanced cases and of some other heart diseases.” says Dr. Michele Pilato, Director of ISMETT’s Cardiac Surgery and Heart Transplantation Unit, and co-chairman of the conference. “We want to address this with a qualified audience, composed of cardiologists with whom we interact during our daily work activities, but also from other regions and countries.”
About 150 professionals from all over the world are expected in Palermo. To name a few, Robert Kormos and Denis McNamara, from the University of Pittsburgh; Hartzell Schaff from The Mayo Clinic; Vinay Badhwar, from West Virginia University; Gregory Ewald and John Gorcsan, from St Louis University; and Yoshinao Yazaki, from The University of Tokyo, in addition to the top Italian experts in the field of heart failure.
