The European Society of Cardiology has canceled its annual Acute Cardiovascular Care conference slated for March 7-9 in Athens, Greece. Coronavirus was named as the reason for the change of plans.
The current strain of coronavirus, known as COVID-19, has made headlines since January as it’s spread from its origin point in Wuhan, China, to Europe, the Americas, Africa and other regions of Asia. The CDC has confirmed thousands of cases of the virus, eight of which, according to the New York Times, are in Greece.
“As you have no doubt seen in the news, the novel coronavirus has been spreading in Europe,” Susanna Price, president of the Acute Cardiovascular Care Association, said in a March 3 statement. “It means that many of you have been prevented from traveling because of restrictions imposed by your national health authorities or your individual medical institutions.”
Price said the cancellation, which came just four days before the conference was slated to begin, was “deeply disappointing.” Prior to calling it quits, the organization had planned to administer health exams onsite.
The Acute Cardiovascular Care conference draws more than 1,000 participants from over 70 countries and focuses on acute care including ACS, acute heart failure, reperfusion and revascularization, refractory cardiac arrest and cardiothoracic intensive care, among a slew of other subjects. Price said her team is still looking into the possibility of rescheduling the conference for a later date.
“Your health and safety are of the greatest priority to us,” she said. “You have a vital role to play throughout the year but especially now, during the spread of the coronavirus. Most of the reported deaths from COVID-19 have been in patients with underlying cardiovascular disease.”
The European Society of Radiology also announced March 3 that it would be postponing its 32nd annual congress of radiology due to coronavirus risk. The meeting, which will take place in Vienna, has been moved from March 11-15 to July 15-19.
Updates about Acute Cardiovascular Care 2020 can be found on the ESC’s website and will be ongoing.
After graduating from Indiana University-Bloomington with a bachelor’s in journalism, Anicka joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering cardiology. Close to her heart is long-form journalism, Pilot G-2 pens, dark chocolate and her dog Harper Lee.