ISVH – October Newsletter

In 2008, the International Society for Vascular Health (ISVH) continued its international expansion with the establishment of regional operations in the USA, Japan, and Australasia. In addition the ISVH held its 3rd annual China Week. In the USA, May 2008 saw the creation of an ongoing partnership between ISVH and the American Society of Hypertension (ASH). An official session was held by ISVH at the twenty-third annual ASH Congress, held in New Orleans on May 16th. The session consisted of two lively debates. The first discussed “Therapeutic modification of arterial stiffness – dream or reality?” The moderator was Prof. Joseph Izzo (New York, USA). Arguing for the motion was Prof. James Cameron (Melbourne, Australia), and against was Prof. John Cockcroft (Cardiff, UK). An extremely active debate followed. The discussion is available on the official ASH Congress CDROM. The second debate asked the topical question “Do novel biomarkers improve the diagnosis and management of cardiovascular disease?” The moderator was Prof. Jay Cohn (Minneapolis, USA). Arguing that they do indeed improve management was Prof. Kennedy Cruickshank (Manchester, UK), and for the defense was Prof. Ernesto Schiffrin (Canada). Another challenging discussion followed. Finally the debates were summarized by the Chairperson, Prof. Suzanne Oparil (Alabama, USA). In the official response ratings issued by ASH, these debates were among the highest rated of all ASH sessions. The audience reactions were extremely positive. The ISVH will continue this format with sessions at the next ASH Congress, the twenty-fourth ASH, to be held in San Francisco from May 5–8, 2009. The third ISVH China Week was held on June 21–28, 2008. The Honorary Chairman was Prof. Lansheng Gong (Shanghai, China), and the President of ISVH China, Prof. Hongyu Wang (Beijing, China). The first congress was held in Guangzhou, and chaired by Prof. Jianfang Luo (Guangdong Hospital, Guangzhou, China). The guest speaker was Prof. Kenji Takazawa (Tokyo, Japan) who delivered a well-received lecture “Don’t discuss systolic pressure without measuring AI”. The second congress was held in Shanghai and was split between the two largest hospitals, Ruijin Hospital (Prof. Ruiyan Zhang) and Jiangsu Hospital (Prof. Changwu Ruan). The guest speaker was Prof. Kohji Shirai who lectured on “CAVI as a marker of arteriosclerosis in the metabolic syndrome”. The third congress, the official ISVH China Session, was held in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia from June 26–28, 2008 under the patronage of the Government of China and the Inner Mongolia Medical Society, chaired by Prof. Guohua Zhang. ISVH was proud to have the attendance of Dr. Chen, the Chinese Minister of Health. Over 500 doctors attended this 2 day meeting, and a letter of thanks was received from the Dr. Chen, wishing ISVH every success in the prevention of vascular disease worldwide. The guest speakers were Prof. Suzanne Oparil and Prof. Yui-Fai Chen (USA). Prof. Oparil gave two lectures, “Estrogen and female arteries; the secret to a long life” and “Recent advances in the treatment of Hypertension”. The fourth ISVH China Week will be held from June 16–25, 2009. Congresses will take place in Guangzhou, Guiyang, and Beijing. A full programme of meetings will be posted over the coming weeks on the ISVH Website (www.isvh.net), including guest speakers from USA, Europe, and Australasia. The official opening of the Japanese branch of ISVH was held in Tokyo on July 13, 2008. Over 400 doctors attended the opening ceremony, which was chaired by Prof. Kenji Takazawa (Tokyo, Japan). The guest lectures were given by Prof. John Cockcroft (Cardiff, UK) who discussed the importance of arterial markers in vascular health management. The second ISVH Japan Congress will be held in summer 2009. Full details will be posted shortly. The first Australasian regional meeting of ISVH was held in Adelaide from August 6–7, 2008. The President of ISVH Australasia is Prof. James Cameron (Melbourne, Australia) and the Secretary is Bronwyn Kingwell (Melbourne, Australia). Among a variety of topics actively debated was “Is there a place for assessing arterial mechanics/function in clinical medicine?” delivered by Prof. Kennedy Cruickshank (Manchester, UK). A second ISVH Australasian Congress is being planned for 2009, as well as an International Congress in Europe. ISVH would like to thank its founding sponsors for their continuing assistance. In particular: Servier Australia, for support of ISVH Australasia, Fukuda Denshi; for support of ISVH China, Omron, for support of ISVH Japan, MicroLife for support of ISVH in the USA. ISVH welcomes new members. To join us, please contact us through the ISVH website (www.isvh.net). This website will shortly be updated and revised to accommodate the expanding role of ISVH in vascular health worldwide.

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