WCCI Warsaw, a strong cardiovascular structure

Face to face with cardiology

This year WCCI is returning to a stationary "onsite" format, which is sure to translate into a large turnout of participants from around the world, after all, WCCI's motto is "Creating Cardiovascular Medicine Worldwide."

• The pandemic has calmed down, and we believe that the stationary formula before the pandemic is a much better choice. Of course, the remote form is convenient, it saves time significantly, but nothing can replace direct contacts with another person, scientist, doctor both professionally and socially, and this has always been a great value of our workshops. - assesses Prof. Adam Witkowski, Director of WCCI, Head of the Department of Cardiology and Interventional Angiology, National Institute of Cardiology in Warsaw, Past President of the Polish Cardiac Society. -

• The Airport Okecie Hotel, where the workshop is held, is close to the airport, as well as relatively close to the Center, a convenient location for both Polish and international cardiologists. We know that our choice for the stationary formula was met with great enthusiasm in the community, people, after years of pandemonium, are simply thirsty for face-to-face contacts, it is easier to ask questions during the sessions and the treatments themselves, easier to exchange opinions. - Adds Prof. Robert J. Gil, Director of the WCCI, Head of the Department of Invasive Cardiology at the National Medical Institute in Warsaw, President Elect of the Polish Cardiac Society

The most important, the latest, the most effective

WCCI has represented the world's highest level of invasive cardiology and cardiovascular medicine for more than 25 years. The first two days focus on coronary arteries. The last day is structural heart disease. WCCI also features top-notch faculty, i.e. the scientific staff of the workshop, absolute leaders not only from Poland, but also from outside the country, who teach participants what is currently the most important, latest and effective in cardiology. They will be honored with their presence, including Jean Marco - the initiator of PCR, the largest European interventional cardiology workshop.

This year's workshop theme is coronary artery revascularization with a special focus:

• Multi-vessel coronary artery disease (with and without left coronary artery trunk involvement)
• the problem of coronary bifurcations
• Percutaneous treatment of structural heart disease (including interventions on the aortic, mitral and tricuspid valves).
• The program will include extremely interesting sessions, on invasive imaging and functional diagnostics, as well as sessions on interventions on the carotid and peripheral arteries. There will also be sessions on the intersection of cardiac intensive care and invasive cardiology Once again, we cordially invite you to participate in perfectly received mini-workshops: WARSAW CHIP (dedicated to complex, highest-risk procedures) and WARSAW CTO (designed for operators interested in training in recanalization procedures for chronic coronary occlusions), where the absolute top of European cardiology will appear in person or online. Lectures interspersed with live-streamed procedures are our almost proverbial trademark. - Prof. Robert J. Gil mentions,

Cardiology village

This year, for the first time during WCCI, a kind of cardiology training village will be organized (it will be created in separate rooms) equipped with training versions (trainers) of various devices used in the most complex coronary angioplasty procedures (including: rotary and orbital atherectomy, percutaneous pumps for left and right ventricular support; "large bore" closure devices, intracoronary imaging systems - IVUS, OCT; coronary microcirculation evaluation system). Classroom sessions are planned during which experienced operators will demonstrate how to use the above-mentioned devices.

• In addition, live broadcasts from renowned centers in Poland and abroad, including Warsaw (Institute of Cardiology in Warsaw, Warsaw Medical University, National Medical Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration), Lublin and Krakow (University Hospitals), as well as Brno and Atlanta, are traditionally scheduled during the Workshop. Live-in-a-box presentations and satellite sessions of the Workshop's sponsors have also been scheduled. - Prof. Witkowski adds.

Social purpose of the workshop, or Conscious Media

The topics discussed at the WCCI Workshop are important not only for the development of cardiology in Poland, but also for social and economic reasons. It is estimated that cardiovascular diseases are responsible for almost half of all deaths in Poland, and our country is still characterized by high morbidity and premature mortality despite the development of cardiology in our country, where the toll of cardiovascular pandemics, primarily heart failure, which is therefore faced by more than a million Poles on a daily basis. The scale of the problem is therefore significant, and comprehensive and systemic measures are needed to counteract the development of the heart disease epidemic in Poland.

• The social, or humanistic, goal of the WCCI workshop is to draw attention to the needs of cardiac patients in Poland and the need to provide them with comprehensive cardiac care. We realize that the media and journalists personally are our allies and partners in achieving this goal. Therefore, for the fourth time, we are organizing, together with the Awareness Institute Foundation, the extremely important debate Media Aware of Cardiology, during which we will summarize another post-pandemic year of cardiology and discuss the necessary solutions for Polish patients in the near future. - Prof. Witkowski explains.

Health debt

With questions and concerns about the health debt in cardiology still emerging, and the need for concrete systemic solutions, it is also the impact of interventional cardiology on reducing the health debt that will occupy the lecturers and participants.

• During the workshop, we will look at the facts about the health debt in cardiovascular medicine, and, above all, verify when and why it arose. How our specialty can help Poles get out of this debt. We will talk about implemented solutions, realized and unrealized cardiology programs, and the most urgent needs of conservative and surgical cardiology. We hope that the discussions will bring concrete systemic proposals on how to reduce morbidity and mortality, as these are so far unattainable milestones for Poland in cardiology. - states Prof. Robert J. Gil.

• Unfortunately, the increase in outlays for additional procedures, has not resulted in a physical increase in consultations and pharmacological and surgical interventions on a broad scale, and we had hoped that patients could be better managed and treated more effectively. However, the issue is more complicated. Coordinated care in primary care is just beginning to be introduced, the role of the family doctor is growing, but it will take time and consistency to optimize the system in operation.

Prof. Gil adds that the system needs not only optimization, but also reorganization of certain fundamental assumptions, the weakness of which was revealed by the coronavirus pandemic, and which for years influenced the low efficiency of the Polish health care system, including in cardiology.