President:	Bojan Vrtovec, MD, PhD
Members:	Matjaž Bunc, MD, PhD Igor D. Gregorič, MD, PhD Mirta Koželj, MD, PhD Renata Okrajšek, MD, PhD Gregor Poglajen, MD Miran Šebeštjen, MD, PhD

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE:

President:					Igor D. Gregorič, MD
Members:					Reynolds M. Delgado, MD O.H. Frazier, MD Sharon A. Hunt, MD Mirta Koželj, MD, PhD Guillermo Torre-Amione, MD, PhD Bojan Vrtovec, MD, PhD

FACULTY:

Emma J. Birks, MRCP, PhD
Royal Brompton and Harefield National Health Service Trust, Harefield, Middlesex, United Kingdom

Matjaž Bunc, MD, PhD
Advanced Heart Failure and Transplantation Program, Department of Cardiology, Ljubljana University Medical Center, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Reynolds M. Delgado, MD
Medical Director, Mechanical Support Devices in Heart Failure, Texas Heart Institute at St.Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Houston, Texas

Bas A. de Mol, MD
Department of Cardio-thoracic Surgery, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

O.H. Frazier, MD
Chief, Center for Cardiac Support, Texas Heart Institute at St.Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Houston, Texas

Tone Gabrijelčič, MD, PhD
Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Ljubljana University Medical Center, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Borut Geršak, MD, PhD
Director, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Ljubljana University Medical Center, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Rajko Gračner, MD
Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Ljubljana University Medical Center, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Siniša Gradinac, MD, PhD
Chief, Heart Failure Department, Dedinje Cardiovascular Institute, Belgrade University School of Medicine, Belgrade, Serbia

Igor Gregoric, MD
Director, Center for Cardiac Support, Associate Director, Cardiovascular Surgery and Transplant Research, Texas Heart Institute at St.Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Houston, Texas

Sharon A. Hunt, MD
Medical Director, Heart Transplantation, Cardiovascular Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California

Biswajit Kar, MD
Director, Cardiac Catheterization Lab, Division of HF, Assist Device & Transplantation, Baylor Clinic, Houston, Texas

Janez Kirbiš, MD
Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Ljubljana University Medical Center, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Mirta Koželj, MD, PhD
Director, Department of Cardiology, Ljubljana University Medical Center, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Ivan Kneževič, MD
Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Ljubljana University Medical Center, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Pranav Loyolka, MD
Advanced Heart Failure/Cardiac Transplantation, Texas Heart Institute at St.Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Houston, Texas

Marianne Mallia, ELS
Manager and Senior Medical Writer, Scientific Publications, Texas Heart Institute at St.Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Houston, Texas

Tim Myers,
Consultant, Cardiac Support Technology, Medical & Scientific Consulting Services, LLC, Houston, Texas

Srdjan D. Nikolic, PhD
Chief Technical Officer, Cardiokinetix, Inc., Menlo Park, California

Renata Okrajšek, MD, PhD
Advanced Heart Failure and Transplantation Program, Department of Angiology, Ljubljana University Medical Center, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Peter Przybylowski, MD
Department of Cardiovascular Surgery and Transplantology, Collegium Medicum of Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland

Rajko Radovancević, MD
Center for Cardiac Support, Texas Heart Institute at St.Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Houston, Texas

Ana Maria Segura, MD
Cardiovascular Pathology, Texas Heart Institute at St.Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Houston, Texas

Miran Šebeštjen, MD, PhD
Advanced Heart Failure and Transplantation Program, Department of Angiology, Ljubljana University Medical Center, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Guillermo Torre-Amione, MD, PhD
Medical Director, Heart Transplantation, Methodist DeBakey Heart Center, Houston, Texas

Egemen Tuzun, MD
Assistant Director, Cardiovascular Surgery Research Lab, Texas Heart Institute at St.Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Houston, Texas

Bojan Vrtovec, MD, PhD
Medical Director, Heart Transplantation, Advanced Heart Failure and Transplantation Program, Department of Cardiology, Ljubljana University Medical Center, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Andrä Wasler, MD
Director, Heart Transplantation Program, Dep. of Transplantation, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria

George M. Wieselthaler, MD
Medical Director, Mechanical Circulatory Support, Department for Cardiothoracic Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

Mr. Stephen Westaby, BSc, MBBS, FRCS, MS
Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, England

Igor Zupan, MD, PhD
Department of Cardiology, Ljubljana University Medical Center, Ljubljana, Slovenia

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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH

12.00 Opening Ceremony

12.30 Branislav Radovančević Memorial Lecture
          O.H. Frazier, MD

13.00 Heart Failure: from Bench to Bedside
          Chair: R. Delgado, MD, M. Koželj, MD, PhD

13.00 Scientific publishing in heart failure
          M. Mallia, ELS

13.15 Experimental models of advanced chronic heart failure
          E. Tuzun, MD

13.30 Outpatient management strategies in advanced heart failure
          M. Šebeštjen, MD, PhD

13.45 Management of heart failure in a specialized tertiary-care center
          M. Koželj, MD, PhD

14.00 Discussion

14.15 Coffee Break


15.00 Heart Transplantation, Stem Cell Therapy and Immune Modulation
          Chair: S. Hunt, MD, M. Šebeštjen MD, PhD

15.00 Surgical aspects of heart transplantation
          T. Gabrijelčič, MD, PhD

15.15 New therapeutic strategies in post-transplant patient management
          S. Hunt, MD

15.30 Stem cell transplantation
          B. Vrtovec, MD, PhD

15.45 Modulation of inflammatory and immune response in advanced heart failure
          G. Torre-Amione, MD, PhD

16.00 Discussion

16.15 Coffee Break

17.00 Novel Therapeutic Targets in Chronic Heart Failure
          Chair: G. Torre-Amione, MD, PhD, R. Okrajšek, MD, PhD

17.00 Natriuretic peptides in advanced heart failure
          R. Delgado, MD

17.15 Anemia and the role of erythropoietin
          R. Radovančević, MD

17.30 Expanding the use of VAD therapy
          T. Myers

17.45 Drug therapy and ventricular unloading for the reversal of heart failure
          E. Birks, MD

18.00 Discussion

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SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27TH

9.00 Percutaneous Interventions in Advanced Heart Failure
        Chair: I. Gregorič, MD, M. Bunc, MD, PhD

9.00 Cardiac resynchronization therapy
        I. Zupan, MD, PhD

9.15 Percutaneous valve repair in advanced heart failure
       M. Bunc, MD, PhD

9.30 Percutaneous coronary intervention in acute heart failure
        B. Kar, MD

9.45 Ventricular remodeling in advanced heart failure
        S. Nikolić, PhD

10.00 Percutaneous ventricular support for acute heart failure
          P. Loyolka, MD

10.15 Discussion


10.30 Coffee Break


11.00 Surgical Approaches in Advanced Heart Failure
          Chair: B. de Mol, MD, B. Geršak, MD, PhD

11.00 The role of coronary surgery in patients with advanced chronic heart failure
          R. Kirbis, MD

11.15 Mitral valve reconstruction in patients with heart failure and severe secondary mitral regurgitation
          P. Przybylowski, MD

11.30 Left ventricular volume reduction surgery
          S. Gradinac, MD, PhD

11.45 The effects of selective vagal stimulation in advanced heart failure
          I. Kneževič, MD

12.00 Discussion

12.15 Lunch Break

14.00 Mechanical Circulatory Support I
          Chair: I. Gregorič, MD, I. Kneževič, MD

14.00 Histopathological correlates of myocardial improvement during left ventricular assist device support
          A. Segura, MD

14.15 Haemodynamic effects of mechanical circulatory support
          B. deMol, MD

14.30 Biventricular support with centrifugal assist devices
          R. Gračner, MD

14.45 Short-term LVAD support for acute heart failure
          I. Gregoric, MD

15.00 Discussion

15.15 Coffee Break

16.00 Mechanical Circulatory Support II
         Chair: O.H. Frazier, MD, Mr S. Westaby, MD

16.00 Towards successful development of chronic implantable LVAD: THI – Oxford collaboration”
         Mr S. Westaby, MD

16.15 Axial flow devices and novel trends in mechanical circulatory support
         OH Frazier, MD

16.30 Complications during circulatory support with axial flow devices
          A. Wasler, MD

16.45 Anticoagulation for mechanical circulatory support 2008: Is it still a topic?
          G. Wieselthaler, MD

17.00 Closing Ceremony and Meeting Adjournment

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MEETING VENUE:

St. Bernardin Adriatic Resort & Convention Center
Portorož, Slovenia



ACCOMODATION

http://www.h-bernardin.si/en/
http://www.lifeclass.net/en/
http://www.hoteli-piran.si/en/


REGISTRATION:

The participation in the meeting requires no registration fee; however, all participants are required to confirm their attendance at least 1 month in advance by fax, e-mail or through registration on our web page.

All participants will receive 9 CME credits.

Information and Contact:

Irena Orel
Department of Cardiology
Phone: +3861 522 2844
Fax: +3861 522 2828
E-mail: irena.orel@kclj.si
www.slo-heart.org

General Sponsor : Cardiomedical