Free consultations and examinations, stress management workshops, first aid demonstrations, healthy eating advice, presentations by patient advocacy organisations and meetings with Poland's most prominent cardiologists - the 4th Patient's Heart Forum will be launched on 24 September 2022. The annual initiative organised by the Polish Cardiac Society and aimed at cardiac patients, their relatives and all those interested in improving their health will again take place in a stationary format after two years, at the International Congress Centre in Katowice. Admission to the event is free.
Power of attraction for healthier hearts
Free ECG, ultrasound and ECHO heart examinations, a range of measurements and laboratory tests, consultations and practical workshops are the main attractions of the 4th Patient Heart Forum - the only initiative in Poland aimed at patients with cardiovascular diseases and their relatives. As every year, the Patient's Heart Forum will be an integral part of the International Congress of the Polish Cardiac Society.
- As part of each successive edition of the Patient Heart Forum, we try to organise the most practical and useful activities for patients and their relatives. During the 4th edition of the Forum, we will traditionally address issues such as hypertension, heart failure, obesity, lipid disorders, among others. These are still current and important topics. However, the recent period has also brought new challenges. Many patients complain to their doctors about ailments directly or indirectly linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. The war in Ukraine has also brought a lot of additional stress to patients. Anxiety, uncertainty - these factors strongly affect the psycho-physical condition of patients, and thus also the results of their cardiac therapy. With the most current needs of our patients in mind, as part of the fourth edition of the Patient Heart Forum, we have prepared workshops on coping with stress, first aid demonstrations and advice on healthy nutrition," explains Professor Ewa Straburzyńska-Migaj, MD, who heads the heart failure sub-department at the 1st Cardiology Department of the Poznań University of Medical Sciences, chair of the Organising Committee of the 4th Patient Heart Forum, and adds: - It is extremely gratifying that after two years when, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our meetings were held online, we will finally meet in person. As in the first edition of the Forum, we will also invite participants to Katowice this time.
Knowledge is support
- Where on the Intrenet can I find reliable health information? Are discussion forums a reliable source of information about my illness? And finally: which sources of information should I use to take care of myself safely? We will try to answer these and many other questions during educational and workshop panels, which will be conducted by the most eminent specialists in Poland, who take care of cardiac patients on a daily basis. During the workshop part of the event, we will invite participants to a meeting with a psychologist, during which we will talk about how to cope with the ageing process, how to think positively and how to support oneself with laughter. These are topics that will be useful for cardiovascular patients as well as their carers, for whom the process of caring for the patient can be a significant burden and who can also benefit from useful support techniques. The Forum will provide a platform for participants to share their experiences. Patients and their relatives will have the opportunity to share their experiences of daily life with the disease. As participants in subsequent editions of the Patient's Heart Forum admit, this is a valuable value of our initiative,' says Marta Kałużna-Oleksy, MD, PhD, from the 1st Cardiology Department of the Poznań University of Medical Sciences, a member of the Organising Committee of the 4th Patient's Heart Forum.
Patient, partner, expert
A regular part of the Patient Heart Forum are panel discussions with the participation of invited experts and stakeholders in the Polish healthcare system. A similar discussion is also planned for the current edition of the Forum.
- This year, as part of the 4th Heart of the Patient Forum, we have planned an opening session with representatives of the Polish Cardiac Society, leaders of patient organisations, as well as policy makers and local government officials. Together with the experts, we will review the results of the latest "Patient Heart Forum" survey, which we designed to find out patients' needs and expectations, as well as their proposals directed at improving cardiac care in Poland. Together with the panellists, we will summarise the greatest successes in the field of cardiology recorded over the past year. We will also point out the challenges we are currently facing in this area. The Forum will also be attended by a number of expert cardiologists who will be happy to answer patients' questions and meet representatives of patients' associations. This promises to be a really interesting discussion, to which we would like to invite everyone," says Professor Ewa Straburzyńska-Migaj, MD.
Patronage of honour for the 4th Patient Heart Forum was provided by:
Ministry of Health, Speaker of the Senate of the Republic of Poland, Patient Ombudsman, National Consultant in Cardiology, National Consultant in Paediatric Cardiology, Supreme Chamber of Physicians, Conference of Rectors of Academic Medical Universities, Rector of the Medical University of Poznań, Rector of the Medical University of Silesia, Section of Cardiac Nursing and Allied Health Professions of the Polish Cardiac Society, Academy of the Cardiac Patient.
For more information about the 4th Patient Heart Forum: www.sercepacjenta.pl.
