Changes in the Council

As we intimated in our Newsletter for December, it is necessary to replace one Council member during the Business Meeting in Venice. All members were invited to make their own proposals for the replacement of Councillors. We have, so far, received one nomination for the Councillor to serve from 2008 until 2011. Katarina Hanséus, Chief of Paediatric Cardiology and Paediatric Heart Surgery in Lund, Sweden, has been proposed by 21 members from 3 countries. Katarina had an early interest in echocardiography, making important contributions to our knowledge in the field with her doctoral thesis published in 1991, and entitled “Evaluation of cardiac size and function using echo-Doppler”. Katarina has also, in parallel with her scientific and clinical careers, shown great administrative skills as scientific secretary in the Swedish Pediatric Association, and as council member and chairman of the Swedish Association for Pediatric Cardiology. Katarina, therefore, has great skills in paediatric cardiology, coupled with administrative efficiency, and experience of working in councils of large organisations. As a greater proportion of the workforce in paediatric cardiologists becomes female, the Council welcomes the opportunity for more female influence in its work. Should more candidates have been proposed by January 21, 2008, then we will proceed to a secret ballot.

The Constitution states that “in exceptional circumstances, the Council, with the subsequent approval of the Members, may extend the term of office of a Council Officer by no more than one year”. As the Office of Treasurer is demanding, the Council has taken advantage of this rule, and has decided to extend the term of Klaus Schmidt by one year. The Council hopes that the newly elected Councillor will take over the role of Treasurer in 2009. In this way, the incoming Treasurer will benefit from one year of training in this demanding position.

During the Council meeting in Leuven in January 2008, Councillor Gerald Tulzer informed that he will step down as a councillor for personal reasons in Venice. The Council proposes him to be replaced by Joerrg Stein from Innsbruck, Austria. The Council proposes that Joerg Stein would be the next Treasurer in 2009. Joerg Stein is director of Paediatric Cardiology at the 3rd University Clinic of Paediatrics in Innsbruck, Vienna. His major clinical interests are cardiac catheterizations and catheter interventions. He has also been scientifically active in basic science. His main interests of research have been molecular biology of heart diseases and the regulation of heart development. Joerg Stein is also well-known for his administrative skills and he has been elected as Head of Paediatrics of the 3rd University Clinic of Paediatrics in Innsbruck lately.

Basic Teaching Courses for Junior Members

One of the key aims of the Association is to foster education in the main sub-specialties of our discipline. To this end, our courses designed to provide Basic Teaching are aimed primarily at trainees in paediatric cardiology, their goal being to provide the foundations of knowledge in the main subjects. At present, several courses take place during the year, with annual courses in echocardiography and morphology, and biannual courses in arrhythmias. Planning is well under way for imminent courses in cardiac catheterisation and intervention, including hands-on practice, basic science and genetics, and cardiac intensive care. Details of all courses, and methods of booking, may be found on the website of the Association.

Each course is run by the working group with an interest in the subspecialty, ensuring that attendees receive teaching from the experts in the field. Thus far, these courses have all been enthusiastically attended by trainees from across Europe, with most courses becoming fully booked well in advance of the deadline. The Council is keen to make these courses as accessible as possible to junior members from any country, and hence they are heavily subsidised, with cheap accommodation and social dinners usually also provided. They also provide an excellent opportunity for young cardiologists to meet and discuss their mutual interests.

During 2008, we will organize 3 courses. By the time you read this Newsletter, the second course devoted to catheterization will have taken place in Milan, Italy, during the period April 4 and 5. A course on morphology is to be held in Padova, Italy, in May, and a course devoted to echocardiography will take place in Barcelona, Spain, in September. Further information about the exact dates, the programmes, faculty, registration, and accommodation, are all listed on the website of the Association within the section devoted to Junior Members at: http://www.aepc.org/.

New members

This year, thus far, we will welcome 45 new members to the Association, including 15 Junior members. They are listed below.

Annual Meeting in Venice

As already emphasised, the Annual Meeting for 2008 will be held in Venice 21st through 24th May. The Scientific Secretary, Jo de Giovanni, and the Local Chairmen, Ornella Milanesi and Giovanni Stellin, have worked hard to provide a rewarding scientific and social programme. This is also the first joint meeting between the Association and the European Congenital Heart Surgeons Society.

An Update Course on Paediatric Cardiac Intensive Care will be held on May 21. While the course will be free of charge for juniors in training, ordinary members and other participants will be required to make a contribution of 80 euros

The main sessions from Thursday to Saturday will include, among other things,

• – The Mannheimer Lecture, which will be delivered by Aldo R Castaňeda, and entitled “Quo vadis – paediatric cardiology and cardiac surgery?”

• – An overview on cardiomyopathies organized by the Working Groups on Cardiac Imaging, Cardiovascular Morphology and Cardiac Arrhythmias and Electrophysiology.

• – Sessions on genetics of right ventricular cardiomyopathy, use of pulmonary vasodilators and basics of right ventricular function organised by the Working Group on Genetics and Basic Science of Congenital Heart Disease.

• – A joint session between the European Congenital Heart Surgeons Society and the Working group on Interventional Cardiology about benefits and complications of percutaneous and surgical treatment of atrial septal defect, coarctation of the aorta, and critical aortic stenosis.

• – A Lunch-break session for junior members.

• – A discussion of international multicentric trials in paediatric cardiology.

• – A session entitled “The struggle for equality” organized by the working group on Psycho-Social care from fetus to adult, which will discuss ethical dilemmas in treating congenital cardiac malformations in different countries and ethnical groups. Ethical aspects of co-morbidity in congenital cardiac diseases will be considered.

• – A session devoted to fetal arrhythmias organized by the Working Group on Fetal Cardiology.

• – A joint-session between the Task Force for Grown-Ups with Congential Heart defect, the European Congenital Heart Surgeons Society, and the Working group on Cardiac Arrhythmias and Electrophysiology devoted to comorbidity, arrhythmias, and reoperations in grown-ups with congenital heart defects.

• – State of the art lectures dealing with recent advances in treatment of complex transposition, the impact of fetal cardiology on the results of neonatal cardiac surgery, the long-term outcome for patients with congenitally malformed hearts, and tissue engineering.

This is but a snapshot of the overall programme. It provides an update on all the significant areas of paediatric cardiology and its related disciplines within a few days! Please join in great numbers and register now. More information regarding the meeting is available at the web page at http://www.aepcmeeting2008.com/

We look forward to meeting you all in great numbers at the Annual Meeting in Venice.

André Bozio Eero Jokinen

President Secretary-General