Letter from ESC to NCS Presidents 14.04.2020

2020-04-16
Dear National Cardiac Society Presidents,
Dear Colleagues and Friends,

We are writing to alert you of ESC‘s new initiatives that aim to address some of the most pressing issues for COVID-19 patients with underlying cardiovascular disease as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with acute coronary syndromes.

The ESC initiatives include:

1. A new web page COVID-19-and-Cardiology which contains podcasts and interviews with experts and colleagues on the frontline as well as testimonies, and a FAQ for and by the patients. Should you wish to translate and disseminate some of these resources to your members, you may access them on the NCS exchange platform. Please let us know If we can help you in any way by writing to ncs@escardio.org.

2. An ESC-U Cardiology Education Resource for Universities. This online course has been developed because some of you have brought to the ESC’s attention that most educational activities at your University or Medical School have stopped because of COVID-19. The course that will be accessible for free to all cardiology trainees and includes complimentary ESC Professional Membership until end of August 2020. The educational programme can be offered to your country’s universities and medical schools through you (we will be in touch to communicate how shortly).

3. An awareness campaign that aims to 1) alert patients with severe chest pain to call an ambulance (despite the lockdown and fear of infection) and 2) lobby hospitals to provide clean areas for patients post PPCI.

To capture essential insights into how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the behaviour of STEMI patients across Europe and transformed our hospitals, a short survey will be sent shortly to ESC members, which we wish to share with you here beforehand. Please help us to collect this important information. Preliminary data suggest that the “collateral” damage of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with cardiovascular disease could be very significant.

We sincerely hope that these initiatives will be helpful to you at this challenging time and renew your focus on providing best care for patients with cardiovascular disease. We need to continue to save the lives we know how to save.

With our warmest regards,

Barbara Casadei, FESC
ESC President

Stephan Achenbach, FESC
ESC President Elect

Franz Weidinger, FESC
ESC Vice President for National Cardiac Societies and Advocacy

Jose Luis Zamorano, FESC
ESC Vice President for National Cardiac Societies and Global Affairs