The document summarizes the 36th Annual Congress of the Belgian Society of Cardiology held on February 9-10, 2017. It discusses the president and board members of the society, their active working groups which include over 35 cardiologists, collaboration with other organizations, and regular board meetings. The congress included presentations on the new 2016 ESC Heart Failure guidelines, two clinical cases applying the guidelines, and the best abstract presented on the prevalence of iron deficiency in heart failure patients. The document also summarizes the Belgian Working Group on Heart Failure's initiatives in recent years which include regional educational meetings, awareness campaigns, and advocating for heart failure policies to authorities.

1. 36th Annual Congress of the Belgian Society of
Cardiology - 9th and 10th February 2017

2.  President: Dr. P Troisfontaines
 President-elect & Treasurer: Dr. W. Droogne
 Secretary: Dr. P. Blouard
 Past Presidents:
Pr. W. Mullens, Pr. O. Gurné, Dr. D. Raes, Pr. JL Vachiery, Pr W. Van Mieghem
 Active members in the WG: more than 35 cardiologists
 Collaboration with:
◦ Belgian Working Group on Cardiovascular Nursing (BWGCVN)
◦ Ligue Cardiologique Belge/Belgische Cardiologische Liga
◦ Mon Coeur Entre Parenthèses, The first HF patients association in Belgium
◦ Heart Failure Policy Network
Website: www.BWGHF.be

3.  Regular Board meetings of the Working group: 6 per year
 Multidisciplinary Heart Failure meeting La Hulpe Dec 6, 2014
in collaboration with HF nurses, GP associations
 Organization of the HF Fellows Week-end (Dr M. Dupont & the Taskforce)
◦ November 2015
◦ November 2016
 Regional meetings for cardiologists and GPs regarding the implementation of the new HF guidelines,
 Organization of the HF care giver post graduate program (HF nurses cursus) (Mr Jan Vercammen)
◦ First session in Sept 2016 in Flanders

4. -) Roundtable on Heart Failure at the Parliament (9th of May 2016 )
 The report (22 pages) of the HF roundtable has been sent to the press
and all the deputies .
 Around 34 request from deputies, members of the Health Commission , Health ministers
and 10 from organization like KCE, Riziv, mutual insurance funds, ...
-) Meeting with Madam Muriel Gerkens ,
president of the Health Commission
-) Questions on heart failure by deputies to the Health Minister
André Frédéric, Muriel Gerkens, Catherine Fonck & Yoleen Van Camp
You can read all the transcript (in Dutch & French) with these links :
 http://www.lachambre.be/doc/CCRI/html/54/ic464x.html
 http://www.lachambre.be/doc/CCRA/pdf/54/ac464.pdf
-) Opportunities for patients & the BWGHF to have an hearing at the Health commission in 2017

5. • Heart Failure Awareness Campaign May 2016
Since 2010, every year, the Belgian Working Group on Heart Failure, in collaboration
with the Belgian Cardiologic League, join forces to organize the campaign on a national
level.
• National Coordinators: Dr. Walter Smolders & Dr. Pierre Troisfontaines
• In May 2016, 22 centres across Belgium have been involved in the HF awareness
campaign.
• For the 2nd time since 2010, the Belgian Working Group on Heart Failure (BWGHF) has
been awarded by the Heart Failure Association (HFA) for his participation to the
European awareness days on heart failure.
Many activities have been organized, such as:
• ‘Open house’ in heart failure clinics,
• Lectures to patients, their relatives and the general population about heart failure,
• Presentation of the movie “L'insuffisance cardiaque, un nouveau parcours pour votre
cœur “ or “ Hartfalen, een nieuw parcours voor uw hart” (new edition)
• Workshops about ‘heart failure’ diets
• Belgian Heart Failure Charter

6. In the Charter on heart failure, we ask to the authorities a series of measures to be taken for heart failure in terms of:
screening, awareness, education, multi-disciplinary approach, cardiac rehabilitation and research.
Since 2013, more than 12.000 Belgians
(patients, citizens and health professionals)
have already signed the charter.
The charter has been widely disseminated,
and was hand-delivered to the Regional
Ministers of Health, as well as the
representative of the Federal Minister of
Public Health and Social Affairs.

7. 15 million hearts, 15 million lives:
Members of the European Parliament launch a Written Declaration on the EU-wide
strategic challenge for better care, monitoring and self-management of heart failure,
with the support of the Heart Failure Policy Network
Wednesday 19th October, 2016,
Host: Ms Annie Schreijer-Pierik MEP
Clinical chair: Professor José Ramón González Juanatey
Written Declaration 110/2016 on Heart Failure is one of the first official policy
opportunities in the European Union (EU) to specifically promote policy awareness of
heart failure and to build a clear consensus that heart failure is a policy priority across
Europe.
234 MEPs have signed Written Declaration 110/2016 on Heart Failure.
www.hfpolicynetwork.eu

8. Moderators:
Wilfried Mullens - ZOL Genk, BE
Pierre Troisfontaines - CHR Liège, BE
Presentation of the new Heart Failure guidelines
Stefan Anker - University Medical Center Göttingen, Germany, DE
Two clinical cases regarding the new guidelines
and the difficulties to implement these guidelines
in Belgium
Philippe Blouard - Clinique Saint-Luc, Bouge, BE
Matthias Dupont - Ziekenhuis Oost-Limburg, Genk, BE
Best Abstract presentation
Prevalence and impact of iron deficiency with
and without anemia on heart failure related
outcome.
Pieter Martens - Ziekenhuis Oost Limburg, BE

9. 2016 ESC Guidelines for heart failure;
European Heart Journal 20 May 2016,

10. 2016 ESC Guidelines for heart failure

11. 2016 ESC Guidelines for heart failure;
European Heart Journal 20 May 2016,

12.  Iron deficiency
 Sleep Apnea
 COPD
 HTA
 DIABETE
 AF
 …

13. | Presentation Title | Presenter Name | Date | Subject | Business Use Only13

14. 14

15. • New practical HF guidelines for acute and chronic HF.
• New Classification of HF.
• New therapeutic class with the ARNI (Sacubitril-Valsartan).
• Importance of the multidisciplinary approach & the cardiac
rehabilitation.
• Management of the Comorbidities like Iron deficiency, Sleep apnea,
diabetes,…