I am delighted to announce that the Annual Meeting of the Japanese Heart Rhythm Society 2018 will be held over the four days from Wednesday, July 11 to Saturday, July 14, 2018 at the Tokyo International Forum.

The theme of the conference is “Innovation and Harmonization: New Outlook for JHRS,” and we will attempt to understand electrocardiographic phenomena and arrhythmias from a wide variety of perspectives.

Recent years have seen spectacular progress in areas ranging from regenerative medicine to simulations and monitoring, device development, and the clinical adoption of innovations. Rather than being limited to a single field, these revolutionary advances in medical technology require collaboration with other fields. On the other hand, the heart is a human organ, and the involvement of not just medical professionals but also of the community and society at large is important in the care of arrhythmia patients. This points the way to the future shape of the JHRS.

At this conference, opinion leaders from both Japan and abroad will share the latest information on the future of electrocardiology and arrhythmia research, and I hope that doctors, medical staff, and researchers will join them in considering the clinical applications of new diagnostic technologies, monitoring systems, non-pharmacological treatments such as devices and catheter ablation, and drug therapies as well as their optimization. As indicated by the inclusion of the term “harmonization” in the conference theme, we will also debate matters from potential combinations of medical technologies and treatment methods to cross-disciplinary collaboration in the care of arrhythmia patients in a broad range of symposia and panel discussions. We are also planning the educational sessions, hands-on workshops, case studies, and workshops that are the trademarks of this conference.

In conclusion, I hope that as many JHRS members as possible will attend this conference, in order to make it a truly fruitful event.

November 2017