Int’l cardiology meet from today

More than 1,000 cardiologists and physicians from Southeast Asia will be in the city to attend the ‘Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) India Next 2014’, a premier educational and academic forum for heart and vascular care. The conference will be held from July 31 to August 3 at the HICC.

TCT conference is the world’s largest and most important educational event for interventional cardiovascular medicine held each year in Washington DC. It was formerly known as Advanced Cardiovascular Solutions (ACVS).

In recent years, advances in catheter-based interventions, many firsts showcased at annual TCT events, have opened doors for hundreds of thousands of patients around the world who were considered too frail to be candidates for older, more invasive surgical approaches to heart problems. In nearly all cases, the use of catheter-based techniques lowers complication risk and expedites recovery when compared to invasive surgical methods.

While surgery still plays a critical role in cardiac care, catheter-based methods will play a crucial role at combatting heart disease, the world’s leading cause of death, for the future. Catheter-based approaches to cardiac care involves use of small tubes called catheters to perform procedures or deliver medical devices, whereas the traditional approach involves making large incisions to access areas of the heart manually.

Dr Sreenivas A Kumar, founding course director and chairman of Cardiovascular Sciences and Chief Cardiologist at Citizens Hospital, commented, “For 25 years TCT has been the pre-eminent annual event for interventional cardiology. It represents the joining together of specialists worldwide to promote innovation in heart care and drive improved clinical options and outcomes for patients around the globe. We are privileged to host delegates and faculty from throughout Southeast Asia, UK, Europe and US to share new techniques, best practices and the latest minimally-invasive approaches to cardiac care.”

Live demonstration of the latest therapies will be showcased by experts from across the globe and these experts will be available for interaction and clarification to the delegates. Highlights of the conference will include didactic sessions, roundtable discussions, new technology displays and live case demonstrations from several sites throughout India, including Citizens Hospital’s new state-of-the-art catheterisation lab.

Dr Sushil K Kodali said, “TCT is the most popular academic program for interventional cardiology globally. The programme was being held in the USA for the past 25 years. We are bringing this programme to India to benefit cardiologists in India.”