Canada’s largest heart failure conference opens today in Toronto

TORONTO May 12, 2017 – Combining new ideas and innovations in cardiovascular care and research, the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research today unites with the Canadian Heart Failure Society for the first time in hosting Canada’s largest meeting devoted to heart failure.

Heart Failure Update 2017 runs May 12 to 13 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

Leading international clinicians and scientists from Europe, UK and the United States join Canadian and local experts for a program that is truly bench to bedside. World-renown speakers include Dr. Mandeep Mehra (Harvard University), Dr. Michel Komajda (University Pierre et Marie Curie), Dr. Calum MacRae (Brigham and Women’s Hospital) and Dr. Shoumo Bhattacharya (University of Oxford).

The faculty of 40 will explore a diverse array of topics from advanced heart failure to mechanical circulatory support to genetics to analyzing how the regenerative capacity of zebrafish cells can be used on a damaged human heart. At least 450 attendees are expected at the event.

“We have engineers, scientists and those responsible for the clinical care of patients under one roof, which is what makes this conference so unique,” said Dr. Mansoor Husain, executive director of the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research. “Whether you’re an established expert in heart failure, or someone who wants to learn more about heart failure, we’re hosting programs and workshops that are well-suited to participants at all levels.”

It’s estimated that at least 1 million Canadians have heart failure, including many who have yet to be diagnosed. Heart failure is a leading cause of hospital admissions and is extremely costly to treat. The Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research seeks to change this by providing new diagnoses, treatments and tools to better prevent and treat both adults and children with heart failure.

Heart Failure Update 2017 is the perfect way to bring clinical researchers, engineers and health practitioners together in collaboration, as all are working toward the same goal: improved lives for those affected by, or at risk of, heart failure.