From 26 to 29 May 2018, a Congress of Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology took place in Vienna, Austria. It is the largest congress on heart failure in the world, which had a record participation this year, with more than 5800 participants from all over the world. Slovenia had more than eighty participants and more than 20 presentations of research results. For the first time in the history of the European Cardiology Association Congress, the "Scientific Chairperson" was a Slovenian - this challenging and responsible task was entrusted to prof. dr. Mitja Lainščak.

The first results from the study on the frequency of heart failure SOBOTA-HF were presented at the congress by prof. dr. Lainščak and colleagues from the General Hospital Murska Sobota. The study was carried out at the General Hospital Murska Sobota and the Medical Centre Murska Sobota in cooperation with the National Institute of Public Health.

One of the presentations of the results of the SOBOTA-HF research was part of the most prestigious part of the congress programme, since it was selected among six lectures on the most important and topical research in the field of heart failure registry in the framework of "Late Breaking Science". Prof. dr. Lainščak lectured on the results of the screening part of the study with an emphasis on the usability and reliability of screening in the general population using the so-called »point-of-care« device for determining the natriuretic peptide. Due to the importance of the results and the visibility of the presentation, the results of the SOBOTA-HF research prof. dr. Rudolf de Boer from the University of Groeningen included in his lecture on the most important highlights of the congress in the field of biomarkers "Highlights of the Congress".

Experts from the Centre for Health and Development Murska Sobota and the General Hospital Murska Sobota also presented their activities in Vienna as part of the media campaign Nepopustljivo srce (Relentless Heart), which is part of the Programme for Awareness and Empowerment on Heart Failure. Together with the participants of the Congress and patients with heart failure, we participated in a well-visited "Hot Walk" (a walk along the Viennese streets) in order to raise awareness about heart failure and control of the disease. With the organizers and participants of "Hot Walk" we exchanged experiences in organizing and transferring such activities across Europe.

You can find all presentations from the congress and lectures on this web site: https://www.escardio.org/Congresses-&-Events/Heart-Failure

Source for photos 4, 7, 9, 10 and 11: FB European Society of Cardiology