The opening ceremony of the World Congress of Cardiology (WCC) Scientific Sessions 2010 was held last Wednesday, 16 June, with leading figures from the Chinese medical community and the World Heart Federation calling for urgent, concerted action to combat the rising prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) globally.
“Without a doubt, CVD will place an ever increasing burden on individuals, healthcare professionals and governments around the world as tobacco use, unhealthy diets, physical inactivity and socioeconomic factors influence our lifestyles,” said Dr Pekka Puska, World Heart Federation President. “There are already concrete steps that can be taken to try to minimize the long-term impact of these diseases, and we are looking forward to reviewing new data and discussing new strategies that will further strengthen our fight against CVD at this meeting.”
Congress Co-Chairs Dr Runlin Gao and Dr Tak-Fu Tse welcomed the WCC delegates to Beijing, noting that by choosing to hold its biennial congress in China, the World Heart Federation had provided an opportunity to look more closely at the country’s CVD burden. “CVD is the leading cause of death in China, accounting for some 39% of urban and 36% of rural deaths,” explained Dr Chen Zhu, Chinese Minister of Health and President of the Chinese Medical Association, also speaking at the opening ceremony. “The Chinese government has exerted, and will continue to exert, great effort in controlling the incidence of CVD.” Smoking, a major risk factor for CVD, will be banned completely in all medical facilities in China from January 2010 onwards.
Dr Dayi Hu, Co-Chair of the Scientific Programme Committee, reported that over one-third of Chinese male cardiologists are smokers. “So many resources have been devoted to CVD treatment yet we are using such limited resources for prevention, particularly to stop smoking,” he observed. He advocated a change in practice from late intervention to early prevention and called for all concerned parties to work actively with governments to stop smoking.
WCC Scientific Sessions 2010 featured the 3rd International Conference on Women, Heart Disease and Stroke, and participants in the opening ceremony programme highlighted CVD as the leading cause of mortality of women globally, killing more women than all cancers, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and malaria combined. “A disturbing gap exists in women’s knowledge and awareness of CVD,” observed Dr Dong Zhao, Scientific Programme Committee Co-Chair, as she introduced the Go Red for Women Campaign, a major international awareness campaign dedicated to the prevention, diagnosis and control of heart disease and stroke in women. |
