Bringing to life the Messe München congress centre from August 25 to 29, ESC Congress lived up to its reputation as the largest cardiovascular conference in the world. A total of 32,8591healthcare professionals gathered in Munich to hear the breaking news on cardiovascular medicine presented at ESC Congress 2018 that ended on August 29.  

“There were many excellent sessions this year,” said Prof Jeroen Bax, ESC President. “But beyond the science and novelties (such as the sessions on digital health) what amazes me is the participation of delegates from so many countries; a record 156 countries this year. Once again, we were able to offer sessions on every subspecialty. As our motto says, Our Diversity Is Our Strength.”

Over five days, 4,500 abstracts were presented in 500 expert sessions covering 400 cardiology topics. A total of 92 late breaking science studies were presented including 17 Late Breaking Clinical Trials, six Clinical Trial Updates, and 20 Registries.

“The major clinical trials presented at ESC Congress 2018 reflect the growing reputation of our meeting as ‘the’ place to be to receive the latest updates in cardiology,” said Prof Stephan Achenbach, Chair of the Congress Programme Committee. “Many of the studies presented in Munich will influence practice and may also lead to guideline updates in the future,” he said. “It is also worth highlighting the huge collaborative effort that makes this congress possible: researchers, presenters, permanent, temporary staff and volunteers. It takes literally years to bring it all together.”

In addition Prof Achenbach mentions POET, “a potentially practice changing trial in endocarditis (heart valve infection), ATTR-ACT, which for the first time demonstrated a treatment option for Amyloid Cardiomyopathy which can cause severe symptoms, and SCOT-HEART, which demonstrate the clear value of using CT in the workup of patients with suspected coronary artery disease.”

“It is difficult to highlight only one study, but I think the trial that will impact practice the most in the coming years is CAMELLIA, because obesity is a huge health problem and it is important that weight reducing drugs can be given without fear of causing cardiac problems,” said Prof Steen Kristensen, Chair of the ESC Media Committee. “I would also mention the ASCEND studies showing that neither low dose aspirin nor omega-3 fatty acid supplementation are beneficial in diabetics without coronary artery disease.”

“If we look at the media coverage of ESC Congress 2018 so far, it seems that editors picked studies on aspirin (ASCEND), wrinkles as a sign of CVD and the risks of high ‘good cholesterol’ as the most newsworthy studies this year. The announcement of the new ESC Hypertension Guidelines was also widely picked up by the media.  “We see a huge interest from journalists in the science being presented at our meeting. We get media requests from all over the world.”

The Healthy Hearts for Munich public awareness event took place downtown, at the Odeonsplatz, on Saturday 25 August. It was an opportunity to involve the people of Munich in the congress, by inviting them to live healthy lives and reduce cardiovascular risk factors. A Local Press Conference also took place at the Klinikum Schwabing with the participation of the Bavarian Minister for Science, Prof Doctor Marion Kiechle.

As ESC Congress 2018 closes its doors in Munich, work is already under way in Paris to prepare ESC Congress 2019, taking place at the Paris Convention Centre from 31 August to 4 September 2019.