Indiana University

Middle East cardiology conference to bring divergent groups to Midwest

Cardiologists from Israel, Palestine, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and other countries in the Middle East will gather in Indianapolis Wednesday and Thursday (April 1-2 for the First International Cardiovascular Conference: Focus on the Middle East.

A unique event, this conference will bring together experts from across the globe to share information and foster collaboration among physicians from Western and Middle Eastern societies.

The World Health Organization estimates that 16.7 million people worldwide die of cardiovascular diseases each year. The conference will explore and analyze the most current information on diagnosis, imaging, surgery, catheter techniques, congenital cardiac replay and replacement, atrial fibrillation, arrhythmias, stroke prevention, electrophysiology and other topics. The list of speakers and round-table participants are a virtual list of Who's Who in Cardiology.

The plenary lecturer is Sir Magdi Yacoub, knighted for his pioneering contributions to cardiovascular surgery. Featured speakers include present and past presidents of the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, the Heart Rhythm Society, the Israel Heart Society, the Saudi Heart Association and other distinguished lecturers.

"The purpose of the two-day event is to share information with colleagues," said conference organizer, Dr. Douglas Zipes, Distinguished Professor emeritus of medicine and former director of the Krannert Institute of Cardiology at the IU School of Medicine. "We want to show the world that cardiologists can transcend the divisive issues and come together in the spirit of friendship for the benefit of our patients."

The conference is a cooperative effort between the American College of Cardiology, the IU School of Medicine Division of Cardiology, the Heart Rhythm Society and Clarian Health. The sessions will be at the IUPUI Campus Center.

Registration information is available at this web site: cme.medicine.iu.edu/iucme/courses.asp.