Dear Colleagues and Companions
Welcome to the PCR Valves e-Course 2020! Exceptional times require an exceptional congress. The well-established PCR London Valves Course has therefore been renewed to adapt to the tumultuous dynamics of this unprecedented COVID-19 year. In 2020, despite extenuating circumstances, the PCR educational train never stopped. The success of the PCR e-Course in June renewed our enthusiasm to prepare a high-profile programme once again, aligned with the educational requirements of the Valve Heart Team. Clearly, all of us will miss the opportunity for face-to-face interaction and the sharing of knowledge through the classic format of PCR London Valves sessions. However, it is also fair to recognise that the advent of digital education has created an infinite array of possibilities for those who want to grasp them. You can bet that many of these possibilities and new formats will remain, even when we have finally put this pandemic behind us.
For years it has been said that virtual conferences were one step away, albeit as a futuristic scenario for people who were yet to be born. Instead, here we are commenting on an unimaginable acceleration and transformation, which leads thousands of people to connect in front of a screen, whilst faculties from all over the world strive to distil the best of their knowledge through a format that provides both challenges and opportunities. A challenge, because it is difficult to educate and deliver lectures in front of a webcam without the reflected energy from a knowledgeable and enthusiastic audience, but also an opportunity, because the digital format requires the ability to innovate, and innovation is at the core of the cardiovascular discipline.
That said, participants in the PCR Valves e-Course will find many familiar elements in this adapted digital format. First of all, the most important focal point is the Valve Heart Team, bringing cardiologists, surgeons and imaging specialists together to focus on the needs of individual patients. There can be no meaningful progress without the integration of these professional skills, so our programme is once again targeted at this triad. There are multiple contemporary questions that we are called upon to answer, as part of the Valve Heart Team. Are we satisfied with the results of TAVI in low-risk trials? Is there any catch-up in late events after TAVI compared with surgery? How should we manage existing and de novo coronary artery disease in TAVI candidates? What is the relationship between volume and outcomes of valve procedures? Do we need more integration of echocardiographic and haemodynamic measurements? How do we maintain excellence as TAVI becomes routine? How can we improve the current results and patient selection for mitral repair? Do we already have meaningful data comparing transcatheter mitral repair and replacement? What about the tricuspid valve, a new frontier requiring further exploration and understanding? This and much more, in a digital scenario that - we promise - will be even more interactive and provide ample room for your input and opinions.
EuroIntervention’s special issue on the PCR Valves e-Course embodies the spirit and content of the course, including state-of-the-art perspectives authored by some of the world’s key opinion leaders in the field, and original science from all over the globe. We are grateful to the Editors of EuroIntervention for hosting this special issue and trust that this volume will provide a comprehensive source of knowledge to guide your daily clinical activities in the field of valve interventions.
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