49th Annual CardioCon highlighted Cardiovascular Innovation

KARACHI: the 49th Annual CardioCon event was held recently in Islamabad. A delegation of cardiovascular physicians and surgeons from the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi attended the event. The delegation was led by Dr E Murat Tuzcu, Chief Academic Officer and the Chief of Cardiovascular Medicine, the Heart & Vascular Institute, the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi and Dr Faisal Hasan, Interventional Cardiologist and Vice-Chair of Cardiovascular Medicine, the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.

CardioCon enabled the team from the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi to exchange ideas and best practices with peers from Pakistan's medical community about the changing needs of the patient populations in both markets.

The team was headed by Dr Tuzcu, who was an international recognized expert in the emerging field of heart valve repair and replacement. His patients are from all over the world. Dr Hasan who was also leading the team, was specialized in minimally invasive complex cardiac and vascular procedures. He completed his initial medical training at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi.

Physicians from the hospital covered a range of topics, including treatments for high-risk patients, structural heart disease, and new vascular approaches for saving the limbs of patients at risk of amputation.

The delegation highlighted that the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi was a leading center of medical excellence in the United Arab Emirates. The Heart & Vascular Institute was one of the five centers of excellence at the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. The delegation expressed that the clinic was led by the world's most respected physicians and surgeons. The clinic offered basic diagnostic to cutting-edge treatments, including minimally invasive and robotic cardiac surgery.

The Institute was the first in the Middle East to introduce transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) as an alternative to traditional open-heart valve replacement surgery. TAVR was one of the key innovations discussed at CardioCon.