Freestanding abstract presentations from EPCCS members
The conference welcomed abstract presentations from EPCCS members for the first time.
Dr Karen Konings from Maastricht, Netherlands presented her work on expert-training for Dutch General Practitioners on CVD. GPs undertook two years of training which included bimonthly seminars, support from mentor groups and self study for half a day each week. Training included learning about key areas of CVD such as epidemiology, diagnosis and management as well as scientific training and courses about teaching and presentation skills. Seventeen graduates have completed the course and have formed an ‘expert group’ which is active in reviewing guidelines, organising conferences, training other GPs and nurses and writing a CVD textbook. A member of the audience asked how the programme was funded. ‘All participants self-fund and the national institute of GPs co-ordinates the programme’, said Dr Konings.
Work on the potential yield of ECG screening of hypertensive subjects from the Utrecht Health Project was presented by Dr Tjarda Scheltens. The European Society of Cardiology guidelines states that patients with a new diagnosis of hypertension should have an ECG carried out to look for evidence of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) however this does not always happen in clinical practice in the Netherlands. In a group of hypertensive patients, 17% had ECG abnormalities. Changes such as evidence of a previous myocardial infarction or atrial fibrillation were seen in some cases. ECG changes significantly affected the cardiovascular risk calculation for some patients. ‘ECGs should be done in all hypertensive patients in the Netherlands’, Dr Scheltens concluded.
Dr Clare Taylor from Birmingham, UK presented data from the Echocardiographic Heart of England Screening (ECHOES) study on the ten year prognosis of patients with heart failure in the community. In patients with heart failure the ten year survival rate was 31% compared to 76% in those without heart failure. Reduced ejection fraction and increasing New York Heart Association (NYHA) classification was associated with a poor outcome. The worst prognosis was seen in patients with multiple cause heart failure. ‘Accurate prognostic information is important for patients, clinicians and policymakers to make informed decisions’, said Dr Taylor.
A study of clinical markers associated with an abnormal ankle brachial pressure index (ABPI) in patients with low HDL-C in primary care was presented by Dr M F Vargas from Madrid, Spain. The benefit of using ABPI in cardiovascular risk stratification was emphasised.