This year’s spring meeting had a great attendance with about 1500 persons. The program was composed by a rich number of interesting sessions, free lectures, posters and research projects. A new prize was also given out “Mona Schlyter clinical prize”.

The Werkö lecture: “Taking the congestion out of heart failure” was held by Prof Lynne Warner Stevenson from Boston, USA. Here main point was that congestion is a central feature of HF. Readmission of patients with HF is common, about 50% seeks hospitals for worsened HF. Studies have showed that RV diastolic pressure is central prior an event and monitoring pressure could might be a better indicator than weight to predict hospitalizations.

Session: Secondary prevention in cardiovascular diseases
Joep Perk, Kalmar. A new secondary prevention model for IHD is developed. Five steps are considered to be of importance to reduce the risk for further cardiovascular events. The goal is to have regular follow up the first year and to advice patients to stop smoking, be physical active and eat health food, be careful with alcohol and keep blood pressure under 140/90 mmHg. LDL-kolesterol should be lower than 1,8 mmol/l. If patient succeed, the best points will be 5.

Session: A paradigm shift in the treatment of heart failure
Lars Lund, Stockholm gave an inspiring talk about Sakubitril/valsartan (Entresto). This is a new combination medicine for use in heart failure that decrease both mortality and morbidity up to 20%.
Treatment will be given to those who follow the criteria for the study population.

Sessions: Heart failure in elderly, what to do when there is lack of evidence?
Kurt Boman, Skellefteå held a speech about what guidelines tells about acute HF in elderly. In fact, as most studies in HF has been done in people under 75 there is no evidence for how to treat elderly with HF. Guidelines describes briefly that it is important to take age, comorbidity in considering in HF treatment. Kurt says that it is challenge to extrapolate data from younger to older patients and that we need studies that are designed for elderly patients’ as well.

Session: Challenge of adherence to treatment of heart failure
Tiny Jaarsma, Linköping talked about technology in heart failure and that technology are an important source for self-care management. Carina Hjelm, Linköping talked about the importance of cognition in heart failure.

Session: Technology to improve self-care management
Maria Liljeroos, Linköping held a speech about the website www.heartfailurematters.com in which help patients’ with heart failure to get fast and clear self-care advice.
Leonie Klompstra, Norrköping visualized that Gamification help patients with heart failure to be more active and thereby having better outcomes. Please visit the website http://www.hf-wii.com/index.php
Congrats to all of you who awarded prizes!

• The Fridlunds prize was given to Peter Johansson, Linköping
• Mona Schlyter prize was given to Nina Lahti, Stockholm for the project to optimize the care for patients with heart failure.
• Ulla Walfridsson, Linköping awarded prize for best free lecture and got also travel grants from The Swedish Heart Association travel grants.

Some of the Cesar members standing from left:
Carina Hjelm, Leonie Klompstra, Maria Liljeroos, Christina Andreae

More information about the spring meeting is available by https://www.malmokongressbyra.se/varmotet

Written by Christina Andreae