The 23rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Heart Failure Society

Yasuki Kihara, MD, PhD, FACC, FACP, FESC

President, the 23rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Heart Failure Society

Professor and Chairman, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine,
Hiroshima University Graduate School of Biomedical & Health Sciences

The 23rd Annual Meeting of the Japanese Heart Failure Society (JHFS) will be held over the three days from Friday, October 4 to Sunday, October 6, 2019 at the International Conference Center Hiroshima, located in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.

The JHFS was founded in response to the establishment of the Heart Failure Society of America and the Working Group on Heart Failure of the European Society of Cardiology, in the context of rising interest in heart failure following the elucidation of its mechanism and the accumulation of evidence from large-scale clinical trials, and the first Annual Meeting was held in Kyoto in October 1997. At the time its membership was only 900 people, but thanks to its broadening popularity and intensified activities this has since risen to over 3000 members today. In addition to encouraging basic, clinical, epidemiological, and translational studies as well as developmental research, the JHFS is also contributing to the development of the medical science of heart failure and its clinical management in Japan via its community-based activities.

Many researchers worldwide have engaged in basic research with the goal of elucidating the pathophysiology of heart failure, and the contributions of Japanese researchers have been prominent among them. They are pioneering advanced technologies while pressing ahead energetically with studies at every level, from organs and cells to genetic factors. In clinical research, too, their endeavors to close in on the pathology of heart failure in areas such as biomarker screening, different imaging modalities, and whole-genome sequencing are making daily progress. However, a complete explication of the pathophysiology and mechanism of heart failure remains a daunting, distant goal. It will require scientists and clinicians already working in basic research and cardiology to collaborate across organizational boundaries, weaving together their perspectives to unite with the aims of elucidating its pathophysiology and developing methods of treatment. At the same time, Japan’s aging population, the rising incidences of hypertension, diabetes, and other lifestyle-related diseases, and the wider use and better outcomes of acute treatment mean that the number of heart failure patients is rising in absolute terms. Most importantly, a rapidly increasing number of older patients are also suffering from multiple other conditions and face a wide range of social problems, making this a major social issue. Not only doctors and nurses, but also many other professionals, including physiotherapists, pharmacists, dieticians, clinical laboratory technicians, clinical engineering technologists, and clinical social workers, must work together to respond as a team. From the viewpoint of social innovation, these teams must also encompass industry and government agencies as well as academia.

In light of the current situation of heart failure research and clinical management, as the theme of this Annual Meeting we have chosen “Collaborated Synergy for Heart Failure”. I hope it will give participants the opportunity to consider the questions of what actions we should currently be taking and what constitutes a team. The conference program will not only include presentations on the latest in heart failure research from many different perspectives, including talks by overseas experts, but also educational sessions for deepening our understanding of important topics. I look forward to hearing presentations of the results of studies from a wide variety of perspectives, and to their full discussion. We will also be holding sessions to enable more in-depth exchanges with a large number of other doctors, with the goals of further understanding the pathology of heart failure and achieving better treatments.

Hiroshima in October is a pleasant season, when local produce and seafood are at their best. It offers far more than the famous okonomiyaki pancakes, and I am sure that both your minds and stomachs will thank you for a three-day visit. I look forward to seeing you there.

Conference Secretariat
c/o Congress Corporation1-9-17 Tenjin, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka 810-0001, Japan Phone: +81-92-716-7116 Fax: +81-92-716-7143
E-mail:jhfs2019@congre.co.jp