https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6701-7072
The Egyptian Society of Cardiology (EgSC) was founded in 1951 by Professor Mohamed Ibrahim as a non-profit organisation. Comprised of 17 working groups working together to deliver the best updated practice in all cardiology subspecialities, the Society has a total membership of 3700 cardiologists and has a clear vision to help prevent and treat cardiovascular disease all over Egypt through advocacy, education, research, and patient awareness programmes.
Cardio Egypt is the largest regional cardiology meeting in the Middle East and Africa. This year’s meeting was organised by the National Heart Institute (NHI) chaired by Professor Mohamed Osama (the Dean of NHI) and Professor Khaled Shokry (the President of the EgSC and Dean of Armed Forces College of Medicine) (Figure 1) and co-chaired by Professor Maged Ramses and Professor Ahmed Magdy (Figure 2).
Professor Khaled Shokry (the president of the Egyptian Society of Cardiology).
Professor Magdy Abdelhamid (Immediate Past President, Egyptian Society of Cardiology) and Professor Maged Ramsis (Co-Chairman, Cardio-Egypt 2021) chairing a joint session with the HFA and ESC
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cardio Egypt was a challenge this year but the meeting marked a step towards normality and was staged as a hybrid event with physical attendance of the Egyptian physicians and virtual participation of a group of esteemed international faculty. The conference also saw the further elements of the usual conference environment return, including an exhibition for the pharmaceutical industries with strict application of safety precautions (i.e. social distancing, face mask, cleaning, disinfecting, and handwashing).
The Cardio Egypt 2021 meeting featured 190 scientific sessions, 2400 participants from Egypt in 12 rooms, including 840 faculties in addition to 120 international experts in different tracks of cardiology, 16 international organisations and 10 international centres in cardiology with representation of their presidents and top faculties. The attendance was very encouraging, ranging from an average attendance of 300 to 1000 delegates on Zoom at any hour with a total of 36 credit hours for attending the conference.
The conference discussed recent updates in all fields of cardiology. The President of the American College of Cardiology (Dr Athena Poppas) and the President of the European Society of Cardiology (Professor Stephan Achenbach) participated in the conference and both societies had joint sessions with the Egyptian Society of Cardiology. In addition, the World Heart Federation, Acute Cardiovascular Care Association, the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Intervention, the European Bifurcation Club, ESC Council on Stroke, and the International Society of Cardiovascular Disease Prevention also shared joint sessions.
The joint session between the ESC and EgSC addressed new frontiers in Cardiology which included interesting presentations on: the future of cardiology (Thomas Luscher), complete revascularisation in STEMI patients: final word (Stephan Achenbach), management of STEMI in HBR patients (Franz Weidinger), and recent updates in atrial fibrillation (Barbara Casadei) (Figure 3), followed by healthy discussion between the panellists, audience and the ESC faculty.
Professor Thomas Luscher (the Treasurer of the ESC) and Professor Barbara Casadei (the Immediate Past President of the ESC).
The Heart Failure Association (HFA) was represented by Professor Petar Seferovic (the Immediate Past President of the HFA & Vice President of the ESC) and Professor Giuseppe Rosano (the President-Elect of the HFA) who presented the recent SGLT2 inhibitor trials in HF, and recent updates in myocarditis and acute heart failure. Professor Francesco Cosentino (ESC Vice President) presented an overview of the 2019 ESC diabetes guidelines.
The joint session between the ACC and EgSC addressed recent updates in IHD and interventions on a range of topics, including: TAVI in women, do they fare better than men (Athena Poppas), ACS in women (Dipti Itchhaporia), aspirin-free antiplatelet therapy after PCI, and when to drop aspirin (Michael Valentine). Further interesting topics were presented in the joint session with the WHF by Professor Fausto Pinto (WHF President), Professor Karen Sliwa, Professor Jagat Narula, and Professor Mahfouz El Shahawy.
The Cardio Egypt conference marked a return to some degree of normalcy in medical conferences in the region but delegates also paused at the end of the meeting as the Egyptian Society of Cardiology paid tribute to all cardiologists who had died of COVID-19.
Acknowledgement
The authors thank professors Mohamed Selim, Bassem Zarif, and Khaled Leon, all staff members at the NHI, and board members of the Egyptian Society of Cardiology for great contribution to Cardio Egypt 2021.
Conflict of interest: none declared.
