WCCI Warsaw 2024, interactive, joint and global in Warsaw

The program of this oldest and one of the most prestigious cardiology workshops in Europe was developed with the participation of representatives of the PTK Intensive Cardiac Therapy Association, the PTK 30 Club and the Euro 4C EAPCI group. This year, the organizers returned to systemic sessions, which are a dialogue with decision-makers and social partners of healthcare in Poland, and prepared a development plan for operators based on the highest world standards.

Creating Cardiovascular Medicine Worldwide

This year, WCCI has stabilized in the stationary “onsite” formula, which resulted in high attendance among participants from all over the world, the congress hosted over 600 participants from all over the world.

– Last year’s return to the on-site formula, with full access for the audience and teaching staff, showed some consequences of the COVID-19 period. The year 2024 was a huge challenge, because the attendance was lower than before the pandemic. People got used to the convenience of participating online, which reduced the chances of success of new initiatives. Companies suggested introducing a hybrid version, where the staff would be on site and the rest of the participants could join remotely. – explains Prof. Robert J. Gil, Director of WCCI, Head of the Cardiology Clinic at the National Medical Institute in Warsaw, President of the Polish Cardiac Society.

– However, most interventional cardiologists in Poland decided to come on site, which fills us with pride and optimism, showing that the on-site formula still matters. Now everything depends on us – on building the program and the attractions that we offer so that participants continue to come. We are convinced that thanks to our efforts, personal participation will continue and be appreciated – he adds.

A new concept of training cardiologists

During this year’s workshops, the Organizers focused on several key aspects of educating specialists in interventional heart and vascular medicine. As they themselves say, they drew important conclusions that are fundamental for the further development and effectiveness of staff education through WCCI workshops in the next generations of operators and the improvement of current surgeons.

– Firstly, we understood that we cannot educate only “plumbers”. The subject of procedures, regardless of their difficulty, is important because it allows to shorten the learning time and avoid mistakes by imitating best practices. However, general medical decisions made by interventional cardiologists are equally important. It depends on us how patients after acute coronary syndromes and patients with recurrent coronary syndromes are treated pharmacologically. We have to treat in a modern and effective way, because the best procedure without optimal pharmacotherapy will never bring optimal results. – assesses prof. Adam Witkowski, Director of WCCI, Head of the Clinic of Cardiology and Interventional Angiology, National Institute of Cardiology in Warsaw, Past President of the Polish Cardiac Society.

– The second element that we developed this year were workshops outside the mainstream of the conference. Companies offered exercises on their devices, which allowed participants to improve their skills. Although these were not always devices used during percutaneous angioplasty procedures, they offered exercises on structural heart diseases. The desire to organize such workshops is huge all over the world. We believe that next year these workshops will be even more extensive, as I saw in Paris during PCR, in San Francisco at TCT, and at national conventions. Training rooms occupy hundreds of square meters, offering huge opportunities for learning and practicing. Huge queues from morning to night are evidence of their popularity and effectiveness – he confirms.

Zoom on cardiology

Experts presented key challenges and proposed solutions aimed at improving the situation in Polish cardiology. A fundamental element of better organization is the implementation of comprehensive programs, effectively integrated with the general system of cardiology care in Poland. An example of a successful program is KOS-Zawał, which effectively provides secondary prevention to patients after a heart attack. The results of the program are so promising that it is worth continuing work on its improvement. In 2023, significant changes were introduced in the treatment of lipid disorders, which motivates centers to achieve goals consistent with the guidelines of the Polish Society of Cardiology (PTK) and the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). Cardiologists are considering integrating the KOS-Zawał program with the B.101 drug program – Treatment of lipid disorders, to optimize patients’ access to cardiology programs, avoiding their duplication and expanding the possibilities of using advanced therapies and increasing access to the program. Such an approach can significantly improve the quality of life and survival of patients.

– This year we discussed the existing cardiology programs and focused primarily on the problem of treating patients with cardiogenic shock. Such conferences are an excellent opportunity to reach decision-makers with problems that make life difficult for Polish cardiology. Healthcare in Poland has never been perfect, but the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the concept of “health debt”, which has since become more important in the context of the availability of medical procedures and the number of cases and deaths. During the pandemic, the number of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures dropped drastically, which resulted in a backlog. We currently have a problem with queues for diagnostics and treatment. The pandemic increased these backlogs, but the excess mortality during this period has slightly reduced them. We estimate that at least half of the health debt has been made up so far. It is crucial to maintain a balance between prevention and corrective medicine so as not to increase the mortality of patients requiring immediate care – admits Professor Gil.

– Responding to the challenge of cardiovascular diseases in Poland requires deep reflection and effective intervention measures. Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of death, which requires a decisive response. Despite progress in corrective medicine, the epidemiology is alarming. Ischemic heart disease remains the dominant killer, and Poland is far behind the leaders in Europe in terms of the effectiveness of preventive measures. The second key area is strokes and cerebrovascular diseases, which also require modern diagnostic and therapeutic solutions. – lists Prof. Witkowski.

– We need a cross-party consensus on the issue of citizens’ health, as well as on the issue of national defense. It is important that the results of government programs are not put aside after a change of government, but to build the future on their achievements. We are currently discussing preventive programs, such as “PolSenior”. It is crucial that the government knows their results and is willing to shift funds also towards preventive medicine – assesses Prof. Gil.

Interactive WCCI

Professor Gil emphasizes that it is worth conducting a survey among the participants now to find out what their opinions are on the WCCI program and what they currently consider most important. He is convinced that dialogue and interactivity are key to the development of the WCCI, which he emphasizes as an important slogan for the conference. Interventional cardiology is currently evolving, where general medical decisions are as important as specialist procedures. The professor proudly mentioned the opening of the WCCI session to various cardiology associations, such as AISN and Club 30.30, which will allow for the organization of a session in next year’s edition of EuroPCR. He also emphasized the long cooperation, more than 15 years, with European and national associations, which proves the openness of the WCCI to new initiatives and the evolution of the program, in line with international trends.

Prof. Witkowski, in turn, said that WCCI focuses on interaction, so that participants do not only see all this on a computer, but are actually here and experience the scientific, innovative and social atmosphere of the congress. All this translates into better results and better prognosis for the patients we treat. What does the Polish WCCI offer that foreign conferences do not?

– I think our strength is the balance between traditional values, which are still important, and new directions that we should pay attention to. We also try to prepare sessions and discussions on the future of interventional cardiology over the next 5 to 10 years. And here we want to develop this, because it is very important that we enter into dialogue, ask what you expect, why you are coming, right? Thanks to this, active participants can avoid certain mistakes and shorten their learning curve. – explains Prof. Witkowski.

– If we compare our workshops with other conferences around the world, everyone agrees that the Warsaw workshops are at the highest world level. We try to achieve uniqueness by adapting the best practices from other large conferences. We are fully committed to implementing the idea of ​​our workshops Creating Cardiovascular Medicine Worldwide – this slogan fully reflects our approach to creating WCCI for almost 30 years. – concludes Prof. WItkowski.