HFPN co-hosts webinar with AISC on community management of heart failure in Italy

On 3 December 2021, the Heart Failure Policy Network (HFPN) and the Italian Association of Patients with Heart Failure (Associazione Italiana Scompensati Cardiaci, AISC) co-hosted Heart failure: advancing community-based management in Italy. The webinar brought together clinical leaders, patient and carer representatives, and national policymakers to discuss urgent priorities for heart failure care.

The event was chaired by Professor Salvatore Di Somma (Professor of Medicine, Department of Medical Surgery at the Sapienza-Università di Roma) and featured the following speakers and presentations:

• Suzanne Wait (Managing Director, The Health Policy Partnership), who provided an overview of the HFPN and the resources available for advocates in Italy.
• Professor Salvatore Di Somma (Professor of Medicine, Department of Medical Surgery at the Sapienza-Università di Roma), who highlighted the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on heart failure care in Italy as well as on the Italian health system as a whole.
• Professor Aldo Pietro Maggioni (Director, Research Centre of the National Association of Hospital Cardiologists, ANMCO), who explained the policy implications and barriers to implementation of the European Society of Cardiology’s updated heart failure guidelines.
• Professor Maurizio Volterrani (Director of the Cardiac Pulmonary Department, IRCCS San Raffaele Pisana Hospital), who presented the views of the Italian Heart Failure Association.
• Onorevole Nicola Provenza (Member of the XII Commission for Social Affairs, Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Republic), who offered his support to improve community-based management of heart failure.

The webinar closed with a panel discussion on telemedicine in heart failure care, chaired by Professor Francesco Gabbrielli (Director, National Centre for Telemedicine and New Assistive Technologies at the Istituto Superiore Di Sanità). The panel featured Professor Simonetta Scalvini (Head of the Cardiology Rehabilitation Unit, Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri, IRCCS), Rossana Bordoni (carer representative, AISC) and Silvano Segnalini (patient representative, AISC).

We would like to thank the speakers for their excellent contributions, AISC for co-hosting the event, and everyone who attended the webinar for engaging in this vital topic.