With the month of May comes the preparation for our EAPCI annual meeting at EuroPCR in Paris. The interventional cardiology community will come together, live in Paris and online, to learn about new developments, discuss new trials and technologies and most importantly to integrate the news into their own practice. The mission of EAPCI is “to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease through percutaneous cardiovascular interventions”. We strive to fulfil this mission by contribution to the evidence, provision of education and training, advocacy for our patients and extensive communication within our community.
This year there will undoubtedly be a focus on new evidence in structural heart intervention. We have seen favourable results for the use of percutaneous mitral repair in functional mitral regurgitation, and most recently confirmation of excellent results of percutaneous aortic valve implantation in low-risk patients. These are milestones for interventional cardiologists worldwide. The results need to be discussed and put into perspective, and we need to try to find a consensus for the best pathway to apply new evidence in our own practice, within our own healthcare system.
I can announce a consensus statement on functional mitral valve regurgitation that is a collaboration of the EAPCI, the Heart Failure Association (HFA), the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA), and the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (ESCVI), with the support of EACTS. This is an extensive document that should serve the community and guide practice.
We will also see the publication of the EAPCI White Book. This new initiative, in collaboration with National Societies and the European Heart Health Institute, illustrates the infrastructure, provision and delivery of interventional cardiology across ESC countries. It highlights some major differences in availability of interventional procedures between countries and should serve to support advocacy groups in their quest for increased access to live-saving therapies for their patients. The goal is to achieve a regular monitoring of interventional cardiology practice in all 56 ESC countries with iterative publication of future data collections.
The training of our young colleagues is an essential mission of our Association. We are proud to announce that we provide the 3rd (at EuroPCR) and 4th (at ESC) session of our new “EAPCI Interventional Cardiology Certification” exam.
At EuroPCR we will also announce this year’s EAPCI Fellowship winners. A record number of grants has been realised in cooperation with our funding partners and, with 50% going to women this year, we make a point of documenting our strong support for female interventional cardiologists.
Please come and join us for the EAPCI General Assembly on Wednesday in Paris, to learn about all the ongoing activities within our association and about more milestones in 2019, and maybe join us in our efforts!
