Message from the President

The Ultra-Aging Society and Heart Failure

My name is Hiroshi Ito of Akita University, and I will serve as the President of the 21st Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Heart Failure Society. It is a great honor for us to be able to hold the Annual Scientific Meeting of such a long-standing society in Akita.
The theme of the 21st Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Heart Failure Society will be “The Ultra-Aging Society and Heart Failure,” and it will be held over the three-day period from October 12–14, 2017, at a hotel and adjoining conference facilities in central Akita.
As you are aware, Japan’s population is aging at an unparalleled rate. It is also a well-known fact that the number of heart failure patients is rising in line with the increasing number of elderly people. This is becoming a major issue in Japan, with some even using the term “heart failure pandemic.” It was with this at the forefront of our minds that we chose the theme of “The Ultra-Aging Society and Heart Failure.”
The meeting will not only deal with basic and clinical research on heart failure, but also take up the increase in heart failure as an issue faced by society as a whole, and look at a broad spectrum of topics in the fields of team medicine and long-term care welfare. We believe that it will be highly meaningful to consider this issue together in Akita Prefecture, which has the oldest population in Japan. We hope that not only doctors but also as many other medical staff and other professions working in the field of long-term care welfare will join us to rethink the issues that Japan will face in future, through the lens of the disease of heart failure.
Akita is at its best in October, when the meeting will be held. The mountains are steeped in the colors of the fall leaves, and you can try delicious kiritanpo (made of freshly harvested rice pounded, wrapped around skewers, and toasted), local sake that can rarely be tasted outside the prefecture, and many other seafood and mountain delicacies. Onsen hot springs containing a wide variety of natural minerals are another of the region’s attractions.
I and all the staff of the meeting are very much looking forward to welcoming you to the first Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Heart Failure Society to be held in Akita.

Professor Hiroshi Ito
Vice-President of Akita University
President of the 21st Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Heart Failure Society