Joint EAS-ESC Session

Prof. Guy De Backer, Belgium

Guy De Backer is Emeritus-Professor of Medicine, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium. He has participated as Principal Investigator in numerous epidemiological studies at the national and international level including INTERSALT and MONICA. At the ESC level he has been instrumental in the launch of the European Association of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation, as well as a member of the writing group of the ESC/EAS guidelines for the management of dyslipidaemia.

Prof. Alberico Catapano Italy

Alberico L. Catapano is Professor of Pharmacology, University of Milan, Italy and Director of the Center for the Study of Atherosclerosis in Milan, Italy. He is President-Elect for the EAS. His research interests focus on the biochemical and genetic causes of atherosclerosis, cellular metabolism of lipoproteins, biochemical and molecular defects in atherogenesis, lipid lowering drugs, and clinical trials with anti-atherosclerotic drugs. He was joint lead author of the recent ESC/EAS guidelines for the management of dyslipidaemia.

Prof. Olov Wiklund Sweden

Olov Wiklund is Professor of Internal Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. His research interests focus on lipoprotein metabolism in cardiovascular disease and the interaction between lipoproteins, and cellular and interstitial components of the vascular wall. His research also includes inflammatory mechanisms of atherosclerosis, atherogenic mechanisms of diabetic dyslipidaemia and the role of biomarkers in unstable coronary disease. He was a member of the writing group of the ESC/EAS guidelines for the management of dyslipidaemia.

Prof. Ian Graham, Ireland

Ian Graham is Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland and Head of Cardiology at the Adelaide & Meath Hospital. Professor Graham chaired the 4th Joint Task Force for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Clinical Practice and is presently Chairman of the European Prevention Implementation Committee. He was a member of the writing group of the ESC/EAS guidelines for the management of dyslipidaemia.

There have been marked changes in the epidemiology of cardiovascular disease over the last decade. In Western Europe, cardiovascular mortality has been steadily declining as a result of advances in acute clinical management. However, the rapid ageing of populations in these countries and the escalation of metabolic diseases including obesity and diabetes have raised the prospect of reversal in health gains.

In contrast, there has been an escalation in premature cardiovascular mortality rates in Eastern Europe, which may reflect the high prevalence of traditional risk factors, such as smoking and excess alcohol intake, as well as less than optimal management due to financial restraints. Local risk factors in Eastern Europe also need to be identified with more specifically targeted prevention programmes in the individual countries.

These trends have important implications for healthcare systems and policy makers and warrant an urgent re-thinking of priorities in the management of cardiovascular risk.

Key references

1. Catapano AL, Reiner Z, De Backer G, Graham I, Taskinen MR, Wiklund O, Agewall S, Alegria E, Chapman M, Durrington P, Erdine S, Halcox J, Hobbs R, Kjekshus J, Filardi PP, Riccardi G, Storey RF, Wood D; European Society of Cardiology (ESC); European Atherosclerosis Society (EAS). ESC/EAS Guidelines for the management of dyslipidaemias: the Task Force for the management of dyslipidaemias of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the European Atherosclerosis Society (EAS). Atherosclerosis 2011;217:3-46.

2. Wietlisbach V, Marques-Vidal P, Kuulasmaa K, Karvanen J, Paccaud F.The relation of body mass index and abdominal adiposity with dyslipidemia in 27 general populations of the WHO MONICA Project. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis 2011 Dec 30. [Epub ahead of print].

3. Wolfenstetter SB. Future direct and indirect costs of obesity and the influence of gaining weight: results from the MONICA/KORA cohort studies, 1995-2005. Econ Hum Biol 2012;10:127-38.

4. Cooney MT, Kotseva K, Dudina A, De Backer G, Wood D, Graham I. Determinants of risk factor control in subjects with coronary heart disease : a report from the EUROASPIRE III investigators. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology 2047487312445562, first published on April 18, 2012.

Forrás: The European Atherosclerosis Society website