Day 1: Tuesday, 16 November

1. 1. 1. Heart failure and cardiovascular disease: 2021 and beyond

       
      

      The COVID-19 pandemic has created a ‘new normal’, but what does this mean for heart failure and cardiovascular disease care? As governments across Europe prepare and launch their national recovery plans, how can we ensure they consider the interests of the heart failure and cardiovascular disease communities, and meet their needs?

      Chaired by: Billy Kelleher MEP (Member of the European Parliament, Renew Europe Group; former National Spokesperson on Health, Fianna Fáil, Ireland)

      Featuring:

      • Ed Harding (Network Director, Heart Failure Policy Network; Managing Director, The Health Policy Partnership)
      • Professor Giuseppe Rosano (President-Elect, Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology)
      • Dr Veena Raleigh (Senior Fellow, The King’s Fund)
      • Penilla Gunther (Founder and Programme Director, FOKUS Patient; former Member of the Swedish Parliament; Member of the Heart Failure Patient Council, Global Heart Hub)

       

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      2. It is time for Europe to take the lead in heart failure

       
      

      The European Union (EU) could become a powerful platform to advance research efforts, exchange best practices and raise awareness of heart failure among national decision-makers. Following growing calls for an EU Action Plan on Cardiovascular Disease and the launch of new EU funding programmes, how can advocates seize this opportunity to come together and direct much-needed resources towards cardiovascular research, innovation and care?

      Chaired by: Ed Harding (Network Director, Heart Failure Policy Network; Managing Director, The Health Policy Partnership)

      Featuring:

      • Dr Ambrose McLoughlin (Chair, HeartBeat Trust; former Secretary General, Department of Health, Ireland)
      • Birgit Beger (Chief Executive Officer, European Heart Network)
      • John F. Ryan (Director of Public Health, Country Knowledge and Crisis Management for the European Commission’s Directorate General for Health and Food Safety)

       

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      3. No delay: transforming detection, diagnosis and escalation

       
      

      Diagnosing heart failure and detecting how and when the syndrome worsens remains a persistent challenge for health systems across Europe. As European guidelines shift towards a more person-centred and reactive approach to heart failure care, will our health systems be able to keep up?

      Chaired by: Dr Joe Gallagher (Clinical Lead for Global Health and Cardiovascular, Irish College of General Practitioners)

      Featuring:

      • Professor Ken McDonald (National Clinical Lead for Heart Failure, Health Service Executive, Ireland; Founder and Medical Director, Heart Failure Unit, St Vincent’s Hospital)
      • Professor Mark Petrie (Professor of Cardiology, Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, University of Glasgow; Cardiologist, Glasgow Royal Infirmary)
      • Professor Damien Gruson (Head of the Department of Laboratory Medicine, Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc; Member, Expert Panel on Effective Ways of Investing in Health, European Commission)
      • Professor Salvatore Di Somma (Internist and Cardiologist; Professor of Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome; President of the Scientific Committee, Associazione Italiana Scompensati Cardiaci)
      • Louise Clayton (Advanced Nurse Practitioner; Co-Chair, Alliance for Heart Failure)
      • Marissa A Mes (Programme Lead, Heart Failure Policy Network)

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      Day 2: Wednesday, 17 November

       

      4. Can digital innovation make person-centred care a reality for all?

       
      

      Digital innovation could help to drive person-centred care by offering new delivery models to facilitate multidisciplinary working and data sharing, as well as patient involvement and self-care. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the implementation of digital solutions – can we use this momentum to make person-centred care a reality for all?

      Chaired by: Marc Bains (Co-Founder and Vice-President, HeartLife Foundation)

      Featuring:

      • Dr Panos Stafylas (former Scientific Coordinator, United4Health; Health Technology Assessment & eHealth Consultant; Cardiologist)
      • Professor Ken McDonald (National Clinical Lead for Heart Failure, Health Service Executive, Ireland; Founder and Medical Director, Heart Failure Unit, St Vincent’s Hospital)
      • Professor Rod Taylor (Co-chief Investigator, REACH-HF study; Professor of Population Health Research, University of Glasgow)
      • Denis Janssen (Founder and Chief Executive Officer, The Patient’s Voice)
      • Ed Harding (Network Director, Heart Failure Policy Network; Managing Director, The Health Policy Partnership)

       

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      5. Workforce expansion and clinical delegation

       
      

      The existing heart failure workforce is under intense pressure and it is highly likely that in many countries, some form of clinical delegation will be needed to ensure equitable access to best-practice heart failure care. How can advocates build a case for decision-makers to invest in a specialist and expanded workforce?

      Chaired by: Professor Izabella Uchmanowicz (President-Elect, European Society of Cardiology Association of Cardiovascular Nursing & Allied Professions, ACNAP)

      Featuring:

      • Lynn Hedgecoe (Member, Patient Advisory Panel at the British Society for Heart Failure Nurse Forum)
      • Carys Barton (Chair, British Society for Heart Failure Nurse Forum; Heart Failure Nurse Consultant, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust)
      • Dr Miek Smeets (General Practitioner, Academic Center for General Practice at KU Leuven)
      • Professor Josep Comín Colet (Director of Cardiology, Bellvitge University Hospital; Director, South Metropolitan Barcelona Integrated Heart Failure Programme)
      • Marissa A Mes (Programme Lead, Heart Failure Policy Network)

       

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      Day 3: Thursday, 18 November

       

      6. Raising our game in heart failure advocacy

       
      
      In the past six years, the Heart Failure Policy Network (HFPN) has developed many policy materials to support heart failure advocates in engaging decision-makers, detailing what they should be asking for and why.

      In this session, we explored how advocates can best engage decision-makers (by learning from successful initiatives) and examined what the HFPN should do to support advocates in 2022 and beyond.

      Chaired by: Neil Johnson (Executive Director, Global Heart Hub; Chief Executive, Croí Heart & Stroke)

      Featuring:

      • Steven Macari (President, Association Vie Et Cœur)
      • Dr Janine Hogan (Director of External Affairs, British Society for Heart Failure)
      • Professor José Ramón González Juanatey (Director, Cardiology and Intensive Cardiac Care, University Clinical Hospital Santiago de Compostela; former President, Spanish Society of Cardiology)
      • Nick Hartshorne-Evans (Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Pumping Marvellous Foundation)
      • Paul Mitchell (Communication Director, Fragility Fracture Network; Adjunct Professor, The University of Notre Dame Australia)
      • Penilla Gunther (Founder and Programme Director, FOKUS Patient; former Member of the Swedish Parliament; Member of the Heart Failure Patient Council, Global Heart Hub)
      • Dr Ambrose McLoughlin (Chair, HeartBeat Trust; former Secretary General, Department of Health, Ireland)
      • Joe Farrington-Douglas (Policy Director, Heart Failure Policy Network; Director of Policy, The Health Policy Partnership)

       
      Download the full agenda