During May 20-23, 2023, the European Society of Cardiology held a “World Congress on Acute Heart Failure” in Prague, Czech Republic.
The mission of the Heart Failure Association (HFA) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), is similar to the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA).
Their goals are to establish networks to improve management of patients with Heart Failure, Education and Research, to address the increasing demand of care in this field.
Heart Failure can be a complication / long term side effect of myocarditis.
In years past, the main goal / treatment for heart failure patients was to “keep them comfortable”, with limited medications available and diet and fluid restrictions.
Dr. Leslie Cooper, the Co-Founder and Medical Director for the Myocarditis Foundation, shared information about myocarditis with many physicians at the conference.
Some of Dr. Bettina Heidecker’s lab members from the Deutsches Herzzentrum der Charite` (DHZC), Berlin, were represented with their work on myocarditis.
Some of their comments are as follows:
Phillip Suwalski
“Our data suggest that magnetocardiography, a noninvasive and radiation-free diagnostic technique that measures the magnetic field of the heart, may be used for initial diagnosis and treatment monitoring of inflammatory cardiomyopathies while detecting the response to immunosuppressive therapy earlier than echocardiography.”
Ainoosh Golpour
“My presentation focused on a case report of a patient whose response to therapy was monitored long-term over several years by magnetocardiography, presenting magnetocardiography as a potential noninvasive method for therapy monitoring.”
Nicolas Musigk
“We reported on a young patient suffering from myocarditis following COVID-19. With the novel diagnostic tool, called Magnetocardiography, which measures the magnetic field of the heart, we were able to identify abnormal heart function and monitor the response to therapy in this patient. Fortunately, the patient reported full reversal of her symptoms after treatment with steroids. “
Dr. Leslie Cooper and Dr. Bettina Heidecker, a previous Myocarditis Foundation (MF) Fellowship Grant Recipient and Current Board of Director for the MF, were also invited to contribute to an ESC Consensus Document meeting that aims to guide diagnosis and therapy in Sarcoidosis, an often-underdiagnosed subtype of myocarditis.
Thanks to the work done through these heart failure societies since the late 1990’s, they have been working to significantly reduce the burden of heart failure, improving the quality of life and longevity through collaboration, education, innovation, research, and advocacy.
There was a high interest in myocarditis among the attendees of this conference and we hope for the same at the Heart Failure Society of America Meeting (HFSA), which will take place in Cleveland, Ohio, on October 6-9, 2023.
