With just over a week to go, the World Heart Federation is looking forward to you joining them for the first ever live streamed edition of the World Heart Summit!

Thee Ministers of Health of Brazil, Jamaica and Oman will all be speaking at this year's Summit, where they will be joined by a diverse group of leaders and innovators from government, business, civil society and academia.

A special panel session featuring WHO Deputy Director-General Zsuzsanna Jakab, Jamaica Minister of Health and Wellness Christopher Tufton, PASCAR President Elijah Ogola and Health Minister of Oman Ahmed Bin Mohammed Al-Saidi, among others, will focus on heart health for development, shining a spotlight on Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.

The two-day programme will cover a wide range of topics and issues, exploring some of today's most pressing challenges in global cardiovascular health: from the impact of climate change on the heart, to charting global trends in cardiovascular conditions and risk factors, to how we communicate about heart health in times of crisis.

Visit WHF website to learn more about the Summit, meet the speakers, and explore the programme.

Click here to register

Congratulations to Prof Ntobeko Ntusi, editor-in-chief of the SA Heart Journal for winning an award in Gold Medal Category which is for researchers who have made substantial and influential contributions that have impacted on health especially in the developing world, during the SAMRC 8^th Scientific Merit Awards.

Follow the awardee profile video here.  

Read here a copy of the MRC announcement:

The SA Heart AGM is taking place via Zoom on Friday 29 October 2021 at 18h00 during the SA Heart virtual congress: A Masterclass

To celebrate World Heart Day and equip members and patients, SA Heart® has partnered with LASSA and the Heart and Stroke Foundation in collaboration with GAFPA to raise awareness on LDL cholesterol and other risk factors of heart disease. Check out this informative website with downloadable resources for patients and clinical guidelines and make your patients aware of the factsheets and use the graphics in your social media posts to spread the word. 

Revived Pulse Foundation created a special route for cyclists to complete a journey of 627 km split over 6 days to celebrate World Heart Day 2021 and to build brand awareness around their vision and mission. Starting on 24 September and ending on 29 September at the Chris Barnard Memorial Hospital on 29th.

https://youtu.be/IaOJbZW1Ra8 

Their visionis to provide heart products and services to as many people in need as possible. Their mission is to help patients in their effort to stay alive. They want to help them prolong their lives with their loved ones and let them know that there is life after heart problems.

For more info visit the website: www.revivedpulse.org

A very good luck to this brave team! 

Please support this Foundation’s mission & reason behind this great initiative – to save lives of patients who are in desperate need of cardiac devices

the South African Heart Association will be taking part in ESC Congress 2021 – The Digital Experience, from 27 to 30 August.

We look forward to welcoming you in the NEW ‘Our Global Community’ section where you will have the opportunity to network and discuss the latest ESC science, with experts from the South African Heart Association, in our local context. (Complimentary Open Access, see below)

Daily Highlights:

• FRIDAY 27 AUGUST 2021:

Panel: Dr Blanche Cupido (Host and moderator), Dr Martin Mpe, Dr Adele Greyling

•        Introduction and welcome – Dr BJ Cupido
•        Dr Martin Mpe – Summary of: Chronic Heart Failure Late Breaking Trials section

o   VANISH Trial results

o   AVANTI: Dual VP-receptor Antagonism in Heart Failure

o   DAPA-HF Trial

•        Dr Adele Greyling –Summary of: Late breaking Science – Arrhythmias and devices

o   Benefit of early rhythm control therapy in patients with asymptomatic AF – insights from EAST-AFNET 4

o   Two-year outcomes with Leadless Pacing: Micra CED results

•        Dr Blanche Cupido – Video-pre-recorded summary of: SA Heart Joint Session: Update arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy and long QT syndrome

o   Clinical experience and genetic underpinning of arrhythmogenic CMO

o   Long QT syndrome – Peter Schwartz

o   Predicting risk for sudden cardiac death in gene carriers in arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy

•        Discussion of interesting topics of the day

SATURDAY 28 AUGUST 2021:

Panel: Dr Blanche Cupido (Host and moderator), Dr Jane Moses, Prof Andrew Sarkin, Prof Farrel Hellig

•        Welcome – Dr BJ Cupido
•        Summary of the previous day’s prime time sessions – Dr Blanche Cupido
•        Dr Jane Moses – Summary of: Defying the odds of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation: dealing with the left atrium - Joint with the European Stroke Organisation (ESO) session:

o   Atrial fibrillation or atrial cardiomyopathy: screening patients for high risk of stroke.

o   Medical treatment in AF: patient selection – drug selection, anticoagulants and more.

o   Left atrial appendage occlusion for stroke prevention: which patient and when?

o   Defying the odds of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation: dealing with the left atrium        

•        Prof Andrew Sarkin – Summary of : Important aspects of cardiovascular disease in patients with diabetes - Joint with the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) session:

o   How can we converge glucocentric and cardiocentric management of diabetes?

o    Hypoglycaemic events in patients with CVD: what are the causes and implications?

o   Optimal diabetic treatment in patients with type 2 diabetes at very high/high cardiovascular risk.

•        Prof Farrel Hellig – Great Debate: controversies in left main revascularisation – to stent or to operate?

o   Pros and cons and discussion

•        Discussion of interesting topics/issues of the day

SUNDAY 29 AUGUST 2021:

 Panel: Dr Blanche Cupido (Host and moderator), Prof Mpiko Ntsekhe, Dr Nqoba Tsabedze, Dr Adie Horak

•        Dr Nqoba Tsabedze - Summary of: Late breaking science in imaging session:

o   “EURECA” Use of Imaging in CCS

o   FAABULOUS  - 18F-Fluoride Assessment of Aortic Bioprosthesis Durability and Outcome

o   The PACIFIC-II study: Diagnostic Comparison of SPECT, PET and MRI in Patients with Prior CAD

•        Prof Mpiko Ntsekhe –Summary of: Late breaking Science: Trial updates in ACS and PCI sessions:

o   TWILIGHT-HBR: Ticagrelor Monotherapy in High Bleeding Risk Patients

o   Antiplatelet therapy in high bleeding risk patients with and without oral anticoagulant therapy after coronary stenting

o   SYNTAX II trial: five year follow-up

•        Dr Adie Horak

o   WHF  COVID-19 & CVD Global Study

•        Discussion of interesting topics/issues of the day

MONDAY 30 AUGUST 2021:

Panel: Dr Blanche Cupido (Host and moderator), Prof Ashley Chin, Prof Eric Klug, Dr Helmuth Weich

•        Welcome and Summary of the previous day’s prime time sessions – Dr Blanche Cupido

•        Prof Eric Klug – Summary of: Meet the Experts: difficult decisions in advanced heart failure session

o   Advanced heart failure: mechanical circulatory support or transplantation?

o   When and how to transition to end of life care in advanced heart failure?

o   There are a few presentations /discussions in this session: Please provide a summary of how to treat and contextualise to SA setting

•        Prof Ashley Chin – Summary of: Managing recurring ICD shocks for ventricular tachyarrhythmias session –

 o   Summary of how to treat and contextualise to SA setting

•        Dr Helmuth Weich – Video / pre-recorded summary of: Nonobstructive coronary artery disease: why bother? Session

o   Nonobstructive coronary artery disease: underappreciated and misunderstood.

o   Nonobstructive coronary artery disease: vulnerable plaque is a volcano waiting to explode.

o   Nonobstructive coronary artery disease: diagnosis and treatment.

•        Discussion of interesting topics/issues of the day  

       Welcome and Summary of the previous day’s prime time sessions – Dr Blanche Cupido

The South African Heart Association virtual stand:

•        Connect with us to discuss your membership, education, certification, our upcoming congress, or just drop by for a chat!

Join us here

•        Where to find us? Our Global Community: Open access

Click on the ‘Our Global Community’ tab in the navigation bar of the congress platform from Thursday 26 August.  Access is freely available – you just need to sign up here for complimentary restricted access. 

For full access to ESC Congress 2021 – The Digital Experience, be sure to register in advance to see the presentations as they happen!

Register to ESC Congress

SA Heart® (The South African Heart Association) noted the recent video and commentary by Dr Susan Vosloo proclaiming her personal anti-vaccination beliefs around COVID-19. Although Dr Vosloo is a well-respected cardiothoracic surgeon, her personal opinion is in direct contradiction to current evidence-based standard of care both locally and internationally.

SA Heart®, representing the opinion of cardiovascular practitioners in South Africa, recognizes and advocates for the use of vaccines in the prevention of severe COVID-19 infections. There is clear scientific evidence for the use of vaccinations to reduce the risk of both hospitalization and death in COVID-19 infections and with the benefit of vaccination far outweighing its risk.

There are currently two SARS-CoV-2 vaccines being used in the national vaccine programme in South Africa: the Pfizer-BioNTech and the Johnson & Johnson vaccines. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is an mRNA vaccine that is given as two doses separated by 21 days. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is an adenovirus-vectored DNA vaccine given as a single dose. Both were evaluated in randomized controlled trials involving over 40,000 participants to evaluate efficacy and safety before being used in vaccine programmes. In these trials, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine resulted in a 95% reduction in COVID-19 infections. A similar reduction in cases of severe COVID-19 was observed. The Johnson and Johnson vaccine resulted in a 66% reduction in cases of moderate to severe-critical COVID-19 and an 85% reduction in severe-critical COVID-19. More recent epidemiologic studies have shown that with the spread of the delta variant of the virus the efficacy of vaccines is reduced, but the vaccines remain highly effective at preventing severe COVID-19 that results in hospital admission and death.

Mild side effects are common with all SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and reflect the immune system being stimulated by the vaccine. Severe side effects have also been reported in a transparent manner during the trials and during programmatic use but are exceptionally rare. The overwhelming benefits of vaccination in terms of preventing death from COVID-19 far outweigh the risks of these rare severe side effects.

As a body, we therefore recommend the use of vaccination for COVID-19 and would encourage all citizens, especially those with comorbidities like heart disease, to register for vaccination.

#covidvaccinessavelives

Regards

Dr Blanche Cupido

President: SA Heart®

Please click here to access it.

There are no less than four editorials (Cardiology in times of uncertainty by Ntobeko Ntusi; The ten commandments for comprehensive heart failure management by Jens Hitzeroth & Ntobeko Ntusi; Revisiting the approach to patients with stable ischaemic symptoms by Anthony Dalby & Tips for young cardiologists or aspiring cardiologists by Oscar Jolobe)

Articles include:

Warfarin: time in therapeutic range, a single centre study on patients using warfarin for stroke prevention in non-valvular atrial fibrillation and prosthetic heart valves by D. Sadhabariss, S.L. Brown

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation skills profile and knowledge of nurses working in an academic hospital authored by M. Rikhotso, H. Perrie, J. Scribante, Z. Jooma

Variation in ascending thoracic aorta position - an analysis by computed tomography a paper by J.G. Koen, J.T. Janson

A descriptive study of inpatient admissions for cerebrovascular disease at a tertiary hospital in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa from Y. Moodley, J.K. Adam

As always there is the popular ECG quiz and a section on Cardiac Imaging

Obituaries on late colleagues Lungile  Pepeta and  Solly Levin and  complete the issue.

SA Heart® is launching its monthly National Journal Club this Thursday, with the Johannesburg branch taking the lead in hosting this event. 

In future, the National Journal Club will be held on each first Wednesday of the month, and hosted in rotation by SA Heart® regional branches and Special Interest groups. The events are CPD accredited and free to attend for SA Heart® members. 

Join the SA Heart® Johannesburg Regional Branch who is hosting the inaugural SA Heart® National Journal Club

Thursday 5 August 2021 from 18h30 to 19h30 via Zoom

Agenda:

1) Welcome:  Ahmed Vachiat

2) COVID and thrombosis: Riaz Dawood, Pravin Manga

3) COVID and myocarditis: Ruchika Meel

4) Journal Review: Farouk Mamdoo https://nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2101897 in collaboration with cardiothoracic surgeon Kaveer Sohan

5) Q&A