Culture

Rome, Italy - 28 Aug 2016: A study in nearly 15 000 heart failure patients has found that up to 80% may not be receiving treatment at doses proven to reduce hospitalisations and improve survival. The research presented at ESC Congress 2016 today highlights the need for doctors to ensure patients are treated appropriately so that the high levels of serious illnesses and death associated with heart failure can be reduced.1

Rome, Italy - 28 Aug 2016: Nebivolol prevents anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2016 today by Professor Mirela Cleopatra Tomescu, a cardiologist at Victor Babes University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Romania.1

"Breast cancer is a major public health problem worldwide, with a death rate of about 1 in 33 patients," said Professor Tomescu. "Anthracyclines are a class of powerful pharmacological agents widely used in the treatment of breast cancer but they have a toxic effect on the heart, inducing heart failure."

Rome, Italy - 28 Aug 2016: Sudden death in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is rarely associated with exercise, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2016 today by Dr Gherardo Finocchiaro, a cardiologist at St George's University of London, UK.1 Nearly 80% of patients in the study had no symptoms and only one in five had been diagnosed with HCM before their death.

Rome, Italy - 27 Aug 2016: Moderate physical activity is associated with a greater than 50% reduction in cardiovascular death in over-65s, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2016 today.1 The 12 year study in nearly 2500 adults aged 65 to 74 years found that moderate physical activity reduced the risk of an acute cardiovascular event by more than 30%. High levels of physical activity led to greater risk reductions.

Rome, Italy - 27 Aug 2016: Smartphones can be used to detect atrial fibrillation with existing hardware, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2016 today.1 A low-cost application (app) has been developed that uses the phone's own accelerometer and gyroscope to check for atrial fibrillation.

Rome, Italy - 27 Aug 2016: Direct catheter-based thrombectomy is equally effective to bridging thrombolysis in the treatment of acute ischaemic stroke, according to results from the observational PRAGUE-16 registry study presented at ESC Congress 2016 today.1

Rome, Italy - 27 Aug 2016: European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and European Atherosclerosis Society (EAS) Guidelines for the management of dyslipidaemias are published online today in European Heart Journal1 and on the ESC Website.2

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) kills over four million people in Europe each year. At least 80% of CVD could be prevented by eliminating health risk behaviours.