CSI Asia-Pacific 2019

Feb. 22-24, 2019

Prof. Horst Sievert (Founder of CSI) and Prof. Jianfang Luo (co-organizer of CSI Asia-Pacific 2019)

Experts from all over the world unanimously agreed that China has made enormous progress in recent years, hence, it was a natural choice to host CSI Asia-Pacific 2019 in Guangzhou. Prof. Horst Sievert sees China as“The new center of the world for the treatment of structural heart diseases”

Prof. Jianfang Luo modestly responded that “CSI provides a great opportunity to learn and to share knowledge”This attitude was shared among all Chinese experts. 

Prof. Horst Sievert and Prof. Jianfang Luo accepted an interview by Drvoice at the congress and shared their views on the characteristics of CSI, the significance of the conference in China, and gave their evaluation of this conference.

Horst Sievert：Innovative China is the new center of the world and the future of structural heart disease treatment

Prof. Horst Sievert had a wonderful academic lecture during the conference

It was a great pleasure to bring CSI to China for the first time and I am grateful for the support received that has proven to be essential in the success of this event. 

History of CSI

CSI was first held in Frankfurt, Germany, as a very small ASD closure training course in the early nineties. At that time we had a faculty of only four, and seventy attendees. Since then, CSI has become a major conference with global influence. CSI has also branched out to other locations like the USA, Africa, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. We have meetings about left atrial appendage closure, PFO closure, and also have a dedicated meeting for device therapy in heart failure, so the entire CSI family has really grown from a very small training course to a big organization over the years. 

China – Destination for the future of world medicine

CSI Asia-Pacific is in it’s fifth year now. Although it is being hosted for the first time in China, I really think that China is a natural choice because of all the developments that are taking place here. I believe that China will be very influential in the medical field, at least in structural interventions – not only in the Asia-Pacific region, but on a world-wide level. We have seen here today a live case demonstrating the implantation of an absorbable ASD closure device! While other countries have been working on this for a long time without any success, China have completed a case, and it was absolutely perfect! So this really is a game changer. 

Structural heart disease —— Not just about closing a hole in the heart

For structural heart disease, the future of medicine cannot be limited to simply closing a hole in the heart or implanting valves. Heart failure management is the field which really has to be developed and where I see the most potential.  This includes devices to treat and to monitor heart failure. It’s necessary for us to move in this direction that will fundamentally change the way we can treat patients with heart failure. 

All medical treatments for heart failure are effective to some degree, but the prognosis of these patients is really very bad. If we can develop better devices to treat heart failure, we will make a difference for these patients. We should try to avoid heart transplantation or at least postpone it as much as possible, because it is certainly not an optimal solution. And we should actually intervene as early as possible to prevent the development of severe heart failure.

Cooperation between cardiology and surgery

Future development of medicine should witness close cooperation of cardiology and surgery, and the boundaries between the two fields will gradually blur. In other words, a cardiac interventionist should master some basic skills of surgery, and some cardiac surgeons may also differentiate into interventional cardiac surgeons, or physicians who manage surgical patients in order to adapt to the needs of medical development better. 

Jianfang Luo: First we learn and then we promote the development of structural heart disease in China 

Prof. Jianfang Luo gave an informative academic lecture during the conference

In 2019, China hosts CSI for the first time

CSI was first organized by Horst Sievert and other interventional cardiologists in Frankfurt, Germany. It has a history of more than 20 years. At present, CSI has many fans all over the world and has branched out in to different continents. Five years ago, CSI began to hold branch meetings in Asia-Pacific.  CSI Asia-Pacific has come to China for the first time this year.

CSI is a boutique conference focusing on the topic of congenita, structural and valvar heart disease. CSI Asia-Pacific 2019 in Guangzhou also included a session on aortic endovascular treatment. The participants include adult and pediatric cardiologists and surgeons.

Chinese doctors are keen to learn more on structural heart disease 

Structural heart disease is a hot topic. There have been great developments and progress in the field of interventional treatment of congenital heart disease as well as valvular adult structural heart disease. Chinese doctors’ enthusiasm for learning about congenital, structural and valvular heart disease has been reignited. CSI is very important to China.

Steep learning curve for China as a first-time organizer

It was a great opportunity for our team to host this event for the first time. Our focus was to learn. The content of this conference was substantial. A number of important international experts participated in the lectures and exchanges in person. At the same time, we gained tremendous experience in organizing international conferences. In short, we gained tremendously.

CSI also provided a precious opportunity for domestic doctors to learn. No doubt, this will play a positive role in improving the level of treatment of structural heart disease in China, be it through attending the conference in person or watching the webcast by Drvoice.

Live Transmission of more than 20 cases from seven hospitals in Asia Pacific

The conference has a strong academic atmosphere

On February 24, CSI Asia-Pacific 2019 ended in Guangzhou. During the conference, there were live case transmission from seven hospitals in Asia-Pacific, and the transmission attracted the attention of many clinicians. Prof. Mao Chen and his team from West China Hospital, Chengdu, China

Prof. Vince Paul and his team from Fiona Stanley Hospital (FSH), Perth, Australia

Prof. Jianfang Luo and his team from Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital Guangzhou, China

Prof. Xiangbin Pan and his team from Fu Wai Hospital, Beijing, China

Prof. Daxin Zhou and his team from Zhongshan Hospital Shanghai, China

Prof. Zhiwei Zhang and his team from Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital Guangzhou, China

Prof. Yingqiang Guo and his team from West China Hospital, Chengdu, China

Prof. Jian’an Wang and his team from The Second Affiliated Hospital Hangzhou University School of  Medicine Hangzhou, China

Prof. Supaporn Roymanee and his team from  Prince of Songkla University (PSU), Hat Yai, Thailand

Exciting live transmission cases, fascinating academic reports and witty speeches – many attendees have trained in the academic halls of Europe and the United States.

The conference venue was packed with enthusiastic experts 

There were more than 20 live cases during the conference that attracted an audience of more than 15,000 people. Conference rooms were packed, and the audience responded enthusiastically with lively Q&A sessions.  

CSI Asia-Pacific 2019 ended successfully in Guangzhou. We are confident that the development of structural heart disease in China will speed up from here onwards and that we are ready to go international!