The designation ceremony of Almazov Centre as a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre took place as part of the Regional Forum of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Surgery on October 15–18, 2019. The Forum covered the topical issues of diagnosis, drug and interventional approaches to the treatment of rhythm and conduction disorders and provided a professional platform for further effective interaction and implementation of regional projects on CVD control.
The Forum also featured a WHO session where the experts discussed the importance of Collaborating Centres, the significance of Russian expertise to WHO’s work on NCDs as well as other issues related to the activities of Collaborating Centres.
“The leading cardiologists from 40 regions of Russia are taking part in the Regional Forum today. It means that it has brought together people who will join us to introduce the existing innovations so that the lives and health of our citizens change for the better. The main goal is to improve the quality and accessibility of medical care, ” highlighted Evgeny Shlyakhto, Director General of Almazov Centre.
The major areas of cooperation for Almazov Centre will be cardiovascular diseases (CVD), health technologies (except for blood safety), computer science and telemedicine, health resources, as well as promoting a healthy lifestyle and education.
As part of the joint work with WHO as a Collaborating Centre, Almazov Centre will deal with such areas as the epidemiology of NCDs and CVD risk factors; organization of acute care and rehabilitation for CVD; secondary prevention of CVD; decision-support systems to improve delivery of CVD prevention and care; development of personalized medicine for CVDs and NCDs; developing understanding on value-based care for CVDs and NCDs.
On October 15 to 17, Almazov Centre also hosted the 8th St. Petersburg School of Arrhythmology as part of the Regional Forum.
The School discussed the hot topics of modern arrhythmology, including various aspects of diagnosis, drug and interventional approaches to the treatment of rhythm and conduction disorders. The event featured plenary and breakout sessions, workshops and round tables on the following topics: modern approaches to the prevention of sudden cardiac death, innovational arrhythmology, problems and prospects of pediatric cardiology and arrhythmology, aspects of anticoagulant and antiplatelet therapy.