ÖKG annual conference between May 25th and 28th, 2022 in Salzburg: Trends and topics lead “Back to the Future”
Vienna (OTS) – This year’s annual conference of the Austrian Society of Cardiology (ÖKG) will take place in Salzburg from May 25th to 28th, 2022 with the main theme “Back to the future”, after two years of the pandemic again as a classic attendance annual conference. ÖKG President and Conference President Univ.-Prof. dr Bernhard Metzler, MSc (Medical University of Innsbruck), Director Univ.-Prof. dr Axel Bauer (Medical University of Innsbruck) and Univ.-Prof. dr Peter Siostrzonek will therefore comment on new “possibilities of digital medicine” and “Corona, heart disease and effects on the health system” at a press conference on Monday. Another topic was the presentation of a new one ÖKG patient platform. Univ.-Prof. dr Bernhard Metzler, MSc, with a view to the annual conference: “Internationally renowned experts* will discuss environmental and climate stressors from a cardiological point of view with us. Personally, I am also very much looking forward to lively discussions on the contribution of sport to mental resilience.” For the first time this year, the ÖKG is awarding the “Fritz Kaindl Medal” at the opening of the congress for special services to cardiology in Austria. Professor Dr. Fritz Kaindl founded the ÖKG in 1968 as a scientific association.
The conference secretary is ÖKG General Secretary Univ. Prof. Dr. Daniel Scherr (Medical University of Graz). program details
Univ.-Prof. dr Bernhard Metzler, MSc: “The pandemic shows the importance of cardiological care for patients”
The corona pandemic with its four waves to date is “not ‘just’ an infectious disease”. All medical fields would be affected. The virus disease affects not only the lungs but also other organs, “but above all due to the effects of the restrictions, it brought serious cuts to normal clinical routine”. In cardiology, it was shown that “the supposed decrease in heart attacks arose because the patients did not dare to go to the hospital and sometimes misassigned their symptoms,” the ÖKG President clarified. Larger heart attacks, an increased incidence of heart failure and higher mortality were often the result.
Metzler: “The corona-related postponements of necessary cardiac interventions – such as catheter or valve interventions – lead to a backlog on waiting lists. So, in a way, Corona ‘helped’ unmask staffing shortages in hospitals.”
About the vaccination: “Unfortunately, the opponents of vaccination misinterpreted many studies in an incomprehensible way. Large studies could only show a few cases of myocarditis that had been triggered by the vaccination. In almost all cases there were very mild courses without any clinical significance or long-term consequences.” Young men between the ages of 16 and 29 were mainly affected. 11 out of 100,000 vaccinated people were affected, compared to only 1 out of 100,000 women in the age equality group [1]. Metzler mentioned that other vaccinations can also result in myocarditis as an immune reaction, but “the risk of myocarditis with corona disease is much higher than with a corona vaccination”.
In the future, “Long-Covid” will affect the cardiological care of patients. “The special importance of the cardiological care of patients has been shown very clearly during the pandemic.” The ÖKG President also referred to internationally relevant research results on the subject of corona and the heart by ÖKG members such as Univ.-Prof. dr Axel Bauer and Dr. Ivan Lechner from Innsbruck and Mrs. Ap. Prof. in Priv. Lecturer in Dipl.-Ing. Ing.in Dr.in Noemi Pavo from Vienna.
Director Univ.-Prof. dr Axel Bauer: “Continuous digital risk monitoring helps in the early detection of cardiological conditions”
“With the multidisciplinary field of digital medicine, diagnostics and treatment are to be improved through software and algorithms. Medicine will be revolutionized in many areas, especially in cardiology,” says Bauer. Digital sensors are able to continuously and non-invasively measure vital parameters and transmit them telemetrically. “Intelligent algorithms transform this information into digital biomarkers that help optimize decisions.” The increasing availability of large amounts of digital patient-related data under the keyword “big data” also opens the door to the application of novel algorithms such as “machine learning” or artificial intelligence. “In this way, personalized therapy decisions can be made for patients.” Bauer pointed out the major challenges one is facing: “We need the values of medicine, bioinformatics, statistics and other disciplines – and for this legal, ethical, regulatory and security-related questions must be clarified.” Innovative digital strategies in patient care also lead validation through high-quality studies, such as the German-Austrian SMART-MI study published in February [2], in which 1,300 patients* after a heart attack were risk-stratified using modern digital ECG-based biomarkers in order to finally evaluate the concept of digital constant risk monitoring using implantable miniature sensors in 400 high-risk patients*. “In this way, clinical events such as a stroke or thromboembolism can be predicted much earlier and more sensitively than with the follow-up care that is currently customary. This opens a therapeutic window for preventive interventions,” underlined Bauer. “The ÖKG has set up a ‘Task Force Digital Health’ for scientific support and funding. The opportunities and challenges of digital medicine will also be examined in several sessions at the annual conference in Salzburg.”
Univ.-Prof. dr Peter Siostrzonek: ÖKG patient information cardioaktiv.at is online since today”
Univ.-Prof. dr In his statement, Siostrzonek pointed out the importance of the limit values for patients and their knowledge of their disease. “There are more and more training programs, for example for heart failure or diabetes patients. inside, recognize the great importance of exercise, nutrition, medical check-ups and vaccinations www.cardioaktiv.at designed. Cardioaktiv.at will offer high-quality medical information on the subject of heart medicine and heart health in an understandable form for patients and interested laypeople. The page, which can also be shared via Facebook, WILL provide ongoing updates on the latest in heart medicine and will always include advice and tips on maintaining heart health. The concept: Leading cardiologists from Austria regularly summarize complex topics in easy-to-understand language and provide tips and advice on the prevention of heart disease as well as answers to frequently asked questions. cardioaktiv.at also offers independent first-hand information. What cardioactiv.at also does is the fact that the site is deliberately operated without external industry sponsorship. “Cardioaktiv.at has been online since today. The articles that are now available will be continuously supplemented by other current articles,” concluded Siostrzonek.
[1] Mevorach S et al. New England Journal of Medicine 2021;385:2140-9
[2] Lancet Digit Health 2022;4:e105-16
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