A significant event for cardiologists, arrhythmologists, cardiac surgeons, specialists in related specialties was the XI scientific-practical conference with international participation “Arrhythmology Days in Kiev”, which took place on November 21-22, 2019 at the Heart Institute of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. Co-organizers of this annual event have traditionally been the Heart and the P. Shupyk National Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education (NMAPE). The purpose of the Annual Arrhythmology Forums at the Heart Institute is to raise the awareness of physicians about the current possibilities of diagnosis and interventional treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. More than 350 practitioners from all regions of Ukraine registered to participate in the conference in two days. The General Director of the Heart Institute, Head of the Department of Cardiac Surgery, X-ray and Vascular Technologies, Professor Borys Todurov congratulated the participants of the conference. The scientific moderator of the conference was Professor Oleg Zharinov, Head of the Department of Functional Diagnostics of the NMAPE.
At the beginning of the conference, the annual award of the All-Ukrainian Association of Specialists in Arrhythmology and Electrophysiology of the Heart for 2019 “Golden Stimulator” was solemnly presented to the invited guest – Professor of the Jagiellonian University (Krakow, Poland) Marek Jastrzebski, one of the recognized European arrhythmologists. In his lecture, Professor Jastrzebski elaborated on aspects of differential ECG diagnostics of paroxysmal tachycardia with extensive QRS complexes.
The main topic of the conference was the newest method of physiological cardiac stimulation – stimulation of the His band. All participants were able to watch online translation of electrode implantation surgery in a patient with complete left bundle branch block, transient complete atrioventricular blockage, and left ventricular systolic dysfunction. The operation was jointly conducted by Professor Jastrzebski and the head of the Department of Surgical Treatment of Arrhythmias of the Heart Institute Oleksandr Grytsai. In addition, two unique workshops for interventional arrhythmologists were conducted “Stimulation of the His band: anatomical workshop and electrode presentation” using biomedical materials (pig hearts). These masterclasses with the participation of teachers from the USA and Poland were prepared by the educational unit of Medtronic.
Leading specialists in the field of cardiac rhythm and conduction disorders from the main arrhythmological centers of Ukraine, in particular, V. Zalevsky and B. Kravchuk (M. Amosov Institute), Y. Karpenko (Odessa National Medical University), D. Volkov (Institute of General and Emergency Surgery, Kharkiv), A. Yagensky (Volyn Center for Cardiovascular Pathology, Lutsk), M. Sorokivsky and U. Chernyaga-Royko (LMMU named after Danylo Halytsky, Lviv) participated in the scientific program of the conference. The interactive master class on ECG-diagnostics of bradyarrhythmias, which was first conducted by the staff of the department of functional diagnostics, Professor Oleg Zharinov and Associate Professor Victor Kuts attracted considerable attention of the audience.
The conference has become one of the most successful forums held at the Heart Institute in recent years. It impressed by the exceptionally high level of guest speakers, the friendly atmosphere and the easy discussion of reports. The materials of the forum will be covered in detail in the newspaper “Health of Ukraine” and the scientific and practical journal “Cardiac Surgery and Interventional Cardiology”.