Scientific programme

The Scientific Programme will consist of a combination of plenary and parallel sessions, including keynote lectures, live cases, workshops and debates. Five “tracks” each containing a selection of related topics will form the majority of the parallel sessions. We aim to gather the finest international faculty available from across the globe.

BASIC SCIENCES: Wherever appropriate throughout the program leading experts will address related issues of Basic Science so as to present a fully integrated account of each subject.

OPTIONAL BREAKFAST SESSIONS will begin daily at 7 am, and the formal program will begin with a major PLENARY LECTURE at 9 am.

PARALLEL SESSIONS will take up most of the day after the morning plenary, each with a different focus area following one of the five major tracks.

END OF DAY PLENARIES are planned, ending each day on a high note, with a “not-to-be-missed” lecture by a leading expert.

THE FIVE PARALLEL TRACKS will be structured as follows:

TRACKS

TRACK 1 - SURGERY, ANAESTHESIA AND INTENSIVE CARE

• FOCUS: LESIONS OF THE LEFT VENTRICULAR OUTFLOW TRACT.
  (Hypoplastic Left Heart will be excluded from this discussion, so as to focus on other aspects of LV outflow tract defects.) We will also have expert input on embryology and surgical anatomy of the lesions we discuss, as well as lectures, debates, and discussions on therapeutic approaches. Sub-sections will include:
• Fetal Aortic Stenosis – options for treatment
• Congenital Aortic Stenosis: birth to adulthood
• Complex Aortic Root Operations
• Small LV: how small is too small for biventricular repair?
• Sub aortic stenosis
• Coronary anomalies
• RHEUMATIC HEART DISEASE remains an epidemic problem in developing nations, more prevalent in some populations than congenital heart disease. We will have expert input on the surgical management of rheumatic valve disease in children.
• EMBRYOLOGY IN THE 21ST CENTURY: we will have input on the latest techniques of embryological investigation and the rapidly changing concepts in cardiac embryology.
• SAFETY AND QUALITY: the perioperative period brings together a disparate team of experts who need to work closely together. We will share ideas about improving quality and safety especially in the perioperative period.
• THE FIRST 24 HOURS post-operatively will be analysed, looking at various aspects of intensive care including ‘fast-tracking’, drug and inotrope usage, fluid therapy, audit and risk stratification.
• ENGINEERING THE HEART – an update on stem cell research and regenerative therapies
• HEART TRANSPLANTATION AND MECHANICAL SUPPORT – advances and new developments
• SEPSIS CONTROL AND ELIMINATION in the peri-operative period
• At every appropriate opportunity within the above sections we will also aim to highlight:
• ANAESTHESIA advances and developments
• CARDIOPULMONARY BYPASS & PERFUSION advances and developments

TRACK 2
CATHETER INTERVENTIONS FROM FETUS TO ADULT

• LIVE CASE PRESENTATIONS will be augmented by a combination of lectures, debates, master classes, and pre-recorded cases, spread over the five congress days.
• SAFETY AND QUALITY issues are increasingly important in the growing Cath Lab practice. We will explore this theme across many problem areas.
• NEWER INTERVENTIONS like transcatheter valve placements on both sides of the heart, and the management of the awkward left atrial appendage will get special attention. We hope that this will appeal to both paediatric and traditionally adult-orientated interventionalists.
• 21ST CENTURY TECHNOLOGIES will form part of our discussions in this track as we look ahead to promising new technologies and potential future developments.

TRACK 3
HEALTH SYSTEMS AND HEART DISEASE

• THE GLOBAL BURDEN OF HEART DISEASE IN CHILDREN, and patterns of disease in different socio-economic regions of the world, is poorly documented. This track will seek to present up-to-date data, and attempt to address ways that global collaboration can better distribute cardiac care in less well developed countries.
• THE ETHICS OF RESOURCE ALLOCATION across the globe calls for prioritization; we plan to discuss ways to approach the problem and how to collaborate across continents.
• TRAINING AND RETAINING staff in poorly resourced areas is a major obstacle to developing better services; we will hear of different environments and different methods, success stories and failures.
• RESEARCH is an essential part of the process of developing equitable health systems, and we will examine the application of large scale multicentre studies using methodologies applicable to small surgical cohorts. We will look particularly at the more neglected heart diseases and the regions of the world where there are major resource constraints. We will consider what value is added in these areas by data collection for disease registries.
• THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR NOMENCLATURE IN PAEDIATRIC AND CONGENITAL HEART DISEASE will have its summit at the World Congress. Harmonization between diverse coding systems will be an important focus, and there will be an update on progress towards ICD11.
• A WORLD SUMMIT OF SUPPORT GROUPS for patients with congenital heart disease is being planned, and we will invite sharing of ideas and strategies.

TRACK 4
ADULTS WITH CONGENITAL HEART DISEASE, AND THE PREVENTION OF ACQUIRED HEART DISEASE STARTING IN CHILDHOOD

• ADULTS WITH CONGENITAL HEART DISEASE represent an ever increasing burden of disease with often unique medical requirements and problems. This will be one of the broad focuses of this track.
• A LIFETIME WITH HEART DISEASE – managing the patient with a congenital heart defect from birth to death; we will have expert discussions of the particular medical therapies and surgical strategies applicable to the adult with congenital heart disease. Speakers will also address the comprehensive clinical assessment necessary, as well as the psychological support of these patients and their families
• ADULT-ONSET ACQUIRED HEART DISEASE often has roots in childhood habits and lifestyles. We will investigate preventative strategies in nutrition, diet, exercise, and substance use and abuse which can lead to life-long improvements in heart health.
• In the above areas we will also highlight:
• A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE in childhood can reduce adult-onset heart disease
• EXERCISE SCIENCE and its contribution to healthy hearts
• CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE early development in the young

TRACK 5
CARDIOLOGY AND THE IMAGING REVOLUTION

• NEW IMAGING MODALITIES continue to improve our diagnostic abilities and to enable better understanding of surgical anatomy. We will explore the latest developments and seek to understand how they apply to various areas of practice.
• ESSENTIAL SKILLS FOR THE OFFICE CARDIOLOGIST will be a focus, looking at various aspects including drugs and the heart, the understanding and interpretation of the indispensable imaging modalities, and the management of syncope and sudden cardiac death.
• ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY, from improvements in mapping and tracking through to modern ablation techniques and defibrillation, as applied in congenital heart disease, will be thoroughly investigated.
• THE EPIDEMIC OF ACUTE RHEUMATIC FEVER AND RHEUMATIC HEART DISEASE in the developing world will also be a focus in this track, seeking to understand how to assess ventricular size and function and analyse valve function in rheumatic disease.
  In addition, we will investigate the pathogenesis, diagnoses and management of rheumatic heart disease, and also consider the public health angle, discussing surveillance, disease registries, and prevention strategies.
• ADDITIONAL FOCUSES in this track will include:
• REGISTRIES reflecting the care of children with congenital heart disease
• NEONATAL CARDIOLOGY state of the art
• CARDIAC MUSCLE disease
• COMPUTERS in cardiology and computational simulation