August 2005
Press conference speakers and topics confirmed for ESC Congress 2005
The next ESC Congress is quickly approaching and will be held from 3-7 September 2005 in Stockholm, Sweden. In addition, the ESC public event, For Your Heart's Sake, 2-3 September 2005 will take place in central Stockholm. Press will need to register onsite.
ESC Congress 2005
The ESC Congress is the largest medical meeting in Europe and one of the leading news-generators in cardiology, attracting over 25,000 attendees each year including several hundred international press from medical to consumer publications.
For full details on confirmed speakers and topics for the press conferences during the ESC Congress 2005, please see the ESC website: http://www.escardio.org/vpo/ESC_congress_information/ConferenceReleases/
Women & Cardiovascular Disease
The special focus of this year's ESC Congress will be Women and Cardiovascular Disease with a selection of sessions addressing this important topic, including the ESC Women at Heart initiative. For more information on Women at Heart sessions at the ESC Congress 2005 see: http://cic.escardio.org/Welcome.aspx?eevtid=11
Pre-Event Press Conference
A pre-event press conference on both the ESC Congress and For Your Heart's Sake, the ESC public event, will be held with a particular focus on local press on Thursday 1 September 2005 at 12:00 in the Volvo showroom, Kungstr�dg�rden, in central Stockholm. For more information on this local public event, please contact [email protected], or local pr agency, PS Communication, Lisa L�nner, tel: +46 31 15 29 90, mobile: +46 70 20 94 14, email: [email protected].
For Your Heart's Sake 2005
For Your Heart's Sake ESC Public Event to be held in Stockholm
Special focus on 'Women and Cardiovascular Disease'
Expanding the ESC activities to the general public, 'For Your Heart's Sake' (FYHS) will be held in Stockholm in the Kungstr�dg�rden, 2 � 3 September 2005. The event will take place alongside the ESC Congress 2005, also in Stockholm, 3 � 7 September 2005, at the Stockholmsm�ssan in �lvsj�.
The ESC's mission, which is to improve the quality of life of the European population by reducing the impact of cardiovascular diseases, is further carried out at FYHS by informing the public about how important the heart is and how to keep it healthy through this fun and educational event. FYHS also will highlight the main theme of the ESC Congress 2005, which will focus on women and cardiovascular disease (CVD) with the aim of better understanding and addressing women and CVD, by offering specific information on risk factor reduction through lifestyle improvements.
The concept behind FYHS is to inform the general public on key cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention issues via heart-friendly activities including: Risk assessment stations to evaluate your CVD risk Discussion forums on healthcare issues Heart-healthy cooking On-stage activities and demonstrations to encourage people to take part in exercise (dance lessons, fitness classes, etc) New techniques to reduce stress (yoga, qui gong, etc).
Among others, the following persons will take part in FYHS to emphasize the importance of heart healthy activities: S�ren Olofsson, Director of Stockholm County Council; Prof. Michal Tendera, President of the European Society of Cardiology; Prof. Eva Swahn, President of the Swedish Cardiac Society; Roger H�glund, Swedish Heart Foundation; Assoc. Prof. Joep Perk, FESC, Public Health Department, Kalmar County.
A computer program developed by the ESC to help doctors predict the likelihood of their patients suffering from a fatal heart attack or stroke over the next ten years, HeartScore will be used during this year's FYHS event in the risk assessment stations to provide visitors with a personalised cardiovascular risk evaluation with graphic displays. The Swedish version of HeartScore is the first local-language web-based and interactive version of the programme (other country versions will follow). HeartScore is based on the ESC's Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE) risk charts and Denmark's PRECARD risk assessment tool, using the latest European Guidelines on CVD Prevention. For further information please see http://www.escardio.org/initiatives/prevention/HeartScore.htm?hit=related.
Subsequent to each event, there is a symbolic transfer represented by a heart statue from one European "Heart City" to another to capture the imagination of the public and emphasise the joint role of major European cities and cultures in fighting heart diseases. Since its inception, FYHS has involved the following cities: Amsterdam, Stockholm, Berlin, Vienna, Cork, and Munich.
This year the ESC is staging FYHS in partnership with: The Swedish Society of Cardiology The Swedish Heart and Lung Foundation AstraZeneca Siemens AG Medical Solutions The Stockholm Visitors Board & Stockholm City The Stockholm County Council.