ESC Congress to highlight results from global trials in six press conferences

Members of the press will be the first to hear the highly anticipated results from global trials in six press conferences devoted to hot lines research:

• Coronary artery disease: the outcomes of an FFRCT diagnostic strategy versus usual care in suspected coronary artery disease will be presented in the PLATFORM trial, while the ABSORB STEMI TROFI II trial will reveal outcomes with everolimus-eluting bioresorbable vascular scaffolds versus durable polymer everolimus-eluting metallic stents.

• Acute myocardial infarction: includes the CIRCUS trial on cyclosporine in STEMI patients and the ALBATROSS trial on early aldosterone blockade in acute myocardial infarction

• Atrial fibrillation/Pacing: the effect of left atrial appendage isolation in patients with long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation undergoing catheter ablation will be revealed in BELIEF, while the efficacy of short-term antiarrhythmic drugs after catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation will be presented in the EAST-AF trial

• Diabetes mellitus/Pharmacology: features the OPTIDUAL trial comparing 12 and 48 months of clopidogrel after drug-eluting stent placement, and the SCOT trial comparing the cardiovascular safety of celecoxib versus traditional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

• Hypertension: results of the PATHWAY studies on prevention and treatment of hypertension with algorithm based therapy will be presented, along with the ATTEMPT-CVD trial on telmisartan prevention of cardiovascular diseases

• Heart failure: the CUPID 2 trial will reveal the efficacy and safety of intracoronary AAV1/SERCA2a in advanced heart failure, and the results of sleep-disordered breathing treatment with adaptive servo-ventilation in chronic heart failure will be presented in SERVE-HF

Four press conferences on topics of interest to the media will be held:

• Lifestyle and Hypertension: features a study on the association between watching television and mortality from pulmonary embolism

• Environment and the Heart: includes research on the effect of seasonal temperature variation on risk of STEMI

• Cardiac Arrest: Improving Outcomes: studies will be presented on cardiopulmonary resuscitation and its influence on nursing home admission, brain damage and survival

• Life Threatening Scenarios: the association between size of thrombi retrieved and neurological recovery after stroke is one of a number of studies that journalists will hear presented for the first time.

A local press conference on The Heart of A Woman will be held on Tuesday 1 September at 11am and is open to all members of the press attending ESC Congress. It will focus on the issue of heart disease under recognition in women and the resulting delays in acute care.

The press book will contain additional press releases on:

Selected clinical trial updates, registries, and basic and translational hot lines including:

• Pre-hospital ticagrelor in STEMI in the first 24 hours after primary PCI in ATLANTIC-H24

• Cold temperature and risk of ischaemic stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation

• Carbonated beverages and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest

• New ESC Guidelines on ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death, infective endocarditis, pericardial diseases, pulmonary hypertension, and acute coronary syndromes without persistent ST-segment elevation

• ESC Registries on atrial fibrillation, chronic ischaemic cardiovascular disease, and cardiovascular prevention.