EHVDAD Brussels
Thursday 8th March 2018
Yesterday in Brussels the members of the European Heart Valve Disease Awareness Day Steering Group met for the second time to discuss the upcoming valve disease awareness day in September.
The group, chaired by Heart Valve Voice and made up of representatives from valve disease patient organisations from across Europe including Ireland, England, Italy, Spain, France and The Netherlands, met previously at the PCR London Valves conference to discuss the key messages behind the day and to finalise the four A’s: Awareness, Ask, Action, Access.
This time around, discussion focussed on the day itself and the plans leading up to the launch of the first ever European Heart Valve Disease Awareness Day. The main focus of the day will be a patient congress that will bring together patients from across Europe to meet each other, their patient organisations and the top clinicians in the field of cardiology. The aim of the patient congress will be, not only to bring awareness around valve disease, but to also give patients a voice and a platform to ask questions, voice their concerns and share their experiences with the disease.
The group was joined by guests from the European Patients Forum (EPF) who work with patient groups from around Europe to help provide patients with chronic illnesses with a voice and to ensure that they have access to the best quality, patient centred care. EPF spoke to the group about how to properly engage patients and provided advice on the the best techniques that will allow patients to feel empowered.
While there is a way to go until the launch of the European Heart Valve Disease Awareness Day in September, the meeting in Brussels allowed the steering group to make significant progress in bringing shape to the day which will take place during the upcoming PCR London Valves conference. The conference is the perfect setting to launch the awareness day as this year’s theme is the focus on transcatheter therapies for valvular heart disease and it plays host to experts in cardiology from around the world.
Watch this space for more updates on how the day is progressing and for more information visit the European Heart Valve Disease Awareness Day website: https://heartvalveday.eu