SAC PRESIDENT’S LETTER

180 Days: shared accomplishments

180 días: Logros compartidos

 

These first six months have been very active in our Society; we have shaped an excellent teamwork with the Board of Directors and all the people responsible for the SAC area. The principle governing our actions is the continuity of the projects others have started and the launching of proposals others will surely accomplish.

On Thursday, May 28, the funding for the creation of the First National Registry of Myocardial In-farction in Argentina was signed during the Con-gress of the Argentine Federation of Cardiology. This important step for our cardiology was started two years ago, with the presidencies of Dr. Jorge Belardi (Argentine Society of Cardiology) and Dr. Juan Sebastián Beloscar (Argentine Federation of Cardiology), and it was then continued during the presidencies of Dr. Carlos Tajer and Dr. Miguel Tibaldi. We are now launching this necessary registry.

Drawing up important topics takes time, and con-tinuity is a key to their realization. This is exactly what we are doing: we are not only discussing but also continuing the projects. By ‘continuity’, I am refer-ring not only to the realization of projects we started but also to the initiation of new ones.

In January, during a meeting with Dr. Gustavo Cerezo -current president of the Argentine Federation of Cardiology-, we decided to start the second registry on hypertension, called RENATA 2.

For over four months, the research committees from both societies worked together on the study de-sign. On May 5, we signed the agreement for the real-ization of this important national registry, which will start nationwide in June.

Continuing this policy of achieving national regis-tries between the two Societies, we are now working on the National Registry on Heart Failure.

In short, dialogue and continuity are our means to grow as a Society, since on the basis of reliable na-tional figures, we will be able to meet the goal we have set for ourselves: reduce cardiovascular mortality in Argentina.

MAY 5

May 5 will be remembered as a very special date for our Society, because in addition to signing the agree-ment with the Argentine Federation of Cardiology, we signed a cooperation agreement with the Argentine Society of Pediatrics.

Both Societies have committed to hold joint round tables in our national congresses, and we have started to work on Consensus Recommendations for the

Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Chil-dren and Adolescents.

We are convinced that in order to reduce cardiovascular mortality we must not be late. Therefore, we must start working with pediatricians, as many dis-eases are associated with habits we incorporate dur-ing childhood and adolescence, and that is precisely the right time for us to act.

We believe that education is the backbone of health, and we have decided to invest our time in education so that future generations can reduce cardiovascular mortality and have a healthier life.

2ND MULTIDISCIPLINARY CONGRESS IN BAHÍA BLANCA On May15-16, the 2nd Multidisciplinary Congress was held in the city of Bahía Blanca (Argentina). This concept was born last year, when we decided that con-gresses within the country followed that modality. We signed an agreement with the Argentine Society of Medicine, and also with the Argentine Society of Pediatrics this year. We worked together for several months nationwide and at local level -Bahía Blanca-to organize that Congress, which was a remarkable success not only for the number of participants (1132) but also for the high academic standards and level of participation and discussion.

For two days we forgot about the specializations that divide us –cardiologists, clinicians or pediatri-cians–, and we felt closer to what we have in common: we are all physicians.

FIRST MEETING BETWEEN CARDIOLOGY AND CLINICAL MEDICINE

The 41st National Congress of Cardiology will be held in October in La Rural (The Argentine Rural Society). This year, we have decided to include joint round tables during the Congress with the societies of Clinical Medicine: Argentine Society of Medicine, Hospital de Clínicas, and Buenos Aires Society of Medicine.

For that purpose, we have created a scientific com-mittee with all the participating societies, in order to design a program of round tables and share each other’s approach and perspectives on patients we see every day.

SAC YOUNG COMMUNITY

The third meeting of SAC Young Community was held during the Congress in Bahía Blanca, including a “hand in hand with experts” round table with the participation of Dr. Carlos Tajer, Dr. Arturo Cagide, Dr. Hernán Doval, and Dr. Jorge Thierer. The young cardiologists posed challenging questions about the situation of residency programs, the doctor-patient relationship, how to break bad news, and the vulner-ability of physicians to the demands of daily practice. None of the participants, in their beginning as medical residents, had had the chance to receive a lec-ture on how to break bad news or on doctor-patient re-lationship. It was from that meeting that the initiative of SAC Young Community to organize groups with psychologists and specialists on communication skills was put into practice, in order to work on the doctor-patient relationship and the emotional handling of extreme situations, occurring everyday and affecting us as physicians and individuals.

WEBSITE:

As of this year, Dr. Jorge Thierer is the new editor of our website. The site now offers interesting sections, such as the Milestones in Cardiology, consisting of videos in which the protagonists talk about how SAC and the first Coronary Care Unit were created, and about transplant, cardiac and pediatric surgery, the creation of medical residency programs, and some of the books that have made history, such as Semiol-ogy, by Dr. Pedro Cossio, Hemiblocks, by Dr. Mauricio Rosenbaum, Ischemic Heart Disease, by Dr. Carlos Bertolasi, and Evidence in Cardiology, by Dr. Carlos Tajer and Dr. Miguel Tibaldi.

The most relevant works presented in internation-al congresses are discussed in our website, together with scientific news –including the Councils’ view–, experts’ opinions on controversial issues, and the meaning of cardiology-related terms.

In short, the SAC website offers highly scientific content that meets the needs of all physicians who visit it, and has become a communicative and educa-tional tool for our Society in just a few years.

This has been possible because SAC took the deci-sion of creating a group of professionals -physicians, scientific journalists, specialists in communication and medical education-, who, with their work, allow having every week an updated page with news, com-ments and opinions from the main experts of Argen-tine cardiology.

WIKICARDIO

Today, a 100% of patients use the Internet to research their medical condition and medication prescribed by their physicians. A 100% of physicians tell our pa-tients not to do it, as the information available on the web is not reliable.

Today, WikiCardio is born: reliable informa-tion provided by SAC.

WikiCardio will be SAC´s educational tool for pa-tients. The purpose of this website is to educate, raise awareness, and improve patient adherence to treat-ments.

The WikiCardio team is made up of ten profession-als who work every week since January on this impor-tant SAC project. Its launching is scheduled for the World Heart Day, on September 29.

REMODELING THE SAC BUILDING

Our Society needed building improvements and up-dated technology. All that means high costs and large investment, which cannot be carried out in only one year. Thus, we have decided to make those changes in stages, and we have already started with the reforms thanks to the contribution from the pharmaceutical industry, prestigious medical institutions, and foun-dations like Banco Macro and the Cossio Foundation, who have selflessly supported our project.

180 DAYS OF SHARED ACCOMPLISHMENTS The Argentine Society of Cardiology made a commitment to society: reducing cardiovascular mortality in Argentina.

We are convinced that it is necessary to work with other societies and with public health authorities in order to meet this commitment. For this reason, we have made agreements and we are working together with the Argentine Federation of Cardiology on the Registries of Myocardial Infarction, Hyperten-sion, and Heart Failure; with the Argentine Soci-ety of Pediatrics on the Consensus of Cardiovascular Prevention; and with the Societies of Internal Medicine on participation in congresses.

We are also working on relevant ongoing projects, such as SAC Young Community, Electronic Medical Record, and Stent for Life.

We firmly believe in national continuing medical education; we therefore highlight the work of the Research Area, the Districts, the Councils, the website, and the PROSAC (Pro-gram for Continuing Education in Cardiology). Also, because we believe in patient education, we have created WikiCardio: reliable informa-tion.

All these accomplishments have been possible thanks to the contribution of many physicians nation-wide who work countless hours every week, physi-cians who are not treasurers, accountants or experts in congresses or education, but who decided to contribute with their knowledge and time to build a better Society.

 

Guillermo Fábregues, MD^MtsaC

President of the Argentine Society of Cardiology