International Forum on Congenital Heart Diseases in Children and Adults

11 April 2016

The MITERA Hospital Pediatric & Adult Congenital Heart Disease Clinic along with the Cardiac Surgery Clinic are jointly organizing an international forum on contemporary treatments for congenital heart diseases, spanning from fetuses to adults. The event will take place on Saturday April 16 and Sunday April 17.

The 2nd Eurasian Joint Forum on Paediatric Cardiology & Cardiac Surgery will be hosted at the Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens (BRFAA), in cooperation with the Cœurs Pour Tous humanitarian association, and its Greek annex Cœurs Pour Tous Hellas. The association has been founded by internationally acclaimed cardiovascular surgeon Afksendiyos Kalangos, with the aim of treating children with congenital heart disease who do not have access to quality healthcare services due to financial or insurance reasons.

The chairmen of the organizing committee, Professor Afksendiyos Kalangos, Director of the MITERA Hospital Cardiac Surgery Clinic and Professor of Cardiovascular Surgery at Geneva University Hospital, and Dr Aphrodite Tzifa, Director of the MITERA Hospital Pediatric & Adult Congenital Heart Disease Clinic, aspire for this convention to become a strong forum in Greece, where cardiologists, pediatric cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, pediatricians and gynecologists will have a chance to exchange scientific views and experiences on new techniques, as well as the diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart diseases.

The event will focus on new imaging techniques for diagnosing congenital heart diseases, such as ultrasounds and cardiac MRI, at any age, from fetuses to adults. Other topics will include new transcatheter procedures, such as cardiac catheterization, for the treatment of congenital heart diseases, as well as pharmaceutical treatments for patients with pulmonary hypertension and heart failure. In the area of congenital heart disease surgery, the forum will focus on primary repair of heart problems, as well as complex cardiac valve repairs. Heart transplantation programs for adults and children will also be discussed.

Apart from distinguished Greek physicians, world-renowned scientists will also be participating in the forum, including Professors Reza Razavi and David Anderson from Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Hospital, London; leading Pediatric Cardiology Professor Jane Somerville, Emeritus Professor at Imperial College, London; Cardiovascular Surgery Professor Shunji Sano from Okayama University Hospital; and Francesco Parisi, head of pediatric transplantations at Bambino Gesù Hospital, Rome.